STRUCTURAL GLASS FACADES - USC School of Architecture

inadvertent and unnecessary, and easily avoidable through the exercise of good problemsolving
design process.
Another opportunity lies in understanding the support requirements for the structure; how the
trusses or structural components will attach to the anchoring structure, what Cheng (2007, p.
111) refers to in her thesis work as building infrastructure. There will also be important
details at the interface of the glass plane at the perimeter. Understanding the underlying
technique by which these things are most easily accomplished allows the architect to design
the building in informed anticipation of these façade requirements.
Many times, because this kind of information is not available to the design team early in the
process, the design of the façade ultimately takes on the nature of a renovation where a new
façade design is being constrained by the existing building because so many design
commitments have been made by the time the façade design starts. Many accommodations
that could have facilitated the façade design, and could easily been made with little or no
impact to the building design or cost, were missed resulting in added complexity and cost to
the façade.
Structural glass facades are far from being standardized window products. Yet the tools,
resources, and perhaps most of all, methods suggested herein could provide the benefit of
enabling the architect to best design for the requirements of the façade system, thus
simplifying the resulting design and making it not only easier to implement, but reducing the
cost.
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