curtain walls
Building skin panels
Curtain walls are exterior walls that carry no structural load—they hang from the building's frame like curtains, keeping weather out without supporting the structure above.
The term is central to modern architecture, where glass-and-steel facades wrap skyscrapers: The tower's curtain walls offer floor-to-ceiling views.
In medieval fortifications, a curtain wall was the defensive barrier connecting towers in a castle.
- facadesMisleading external appearances
- spandrelSpace flanking arch curves
- parapetsLow protective walls
- mullionsWindow frame dividers
- glazingGlossy protective coating
battlements · windows · paneling · unitized · glass panels · aluminum frames · envelope · towers · transoms · exterior · cladding · sealants · wind resistance · crenellations · fenestration · ramparts · frame · grid
- fortificationsfort, fortress, fortresses, citadel, citadels
- architectural metalworksteel beams, wrought iron, structural steel, metal frames, handrails
- building craftscarpentry, masonry, joinery, plastering, roofing
- building facadesfacade, cladding, metal panels, stone veneer, panels
- facadesfacade, front, glass facades, false front, frontage
- Glass Architectureglass facades, glass towers, glass panels, glazing, glass domes