Glass Façade with Vacuum Insulation

All-glass façades are rarely all glass; they are just made to look that way. The transparent window portion of the façade, or insulated glazing unit (IGU), is installed in a curtainwall along with opaque spandrel sections that hide columns, beams, and mechanicals from view. Cladding, sometimes glass, covers the spandrel to meld with the building’s design.

These spandrel sections have to be carefully engineered, insulated, and detailed to integrate the IGUs and reduce potential thermal bridging, and moisture and air infiltration. This requires materials for the aluminum framing, trim, and cladding; and added time and labor for design and installation. But what if you didn’t have to build and insulate spandrel sections and truly made the façade “all-glass”?