STRUCTURAL GLASS FACADES - USC School of Architecture

Following are the materials, processes and building systems that comprise the technology of
structural glass facades. Many of these are rich enough in content to deserve significantly
more comprehensive treatment, but such is beyond the scope and focus of this thesis.
Instead, the priority is on highlighting the most relevant considerations required to facilitate
the implementation of structural glass façade technology. What is presented here is an
overview of the most popular materials and systems. Chapter 6, in a more systematic and
rigorous manner, identifies and categorizes structure types, glass, and glass system types,
and discusses the primary attributes of each type.
2.2 Structural Support Systems
Façade technology is complex, glass facades even more so, with long-span glass facades
topping the challenge. Appropriate designs are as unique to the particular requirements of
any architectural project as is the ultimate form of the building. The designer must balance
myriad variables to develop an optimum solution to the façade design.
Central to the application of the technology is the development of a supporting structure. An
interesting diversity of structure types has evolved in these façade applications, with each of
the types possessing varying attributes that may impact their appropriateness to a specific
application. A cable net may provide optimum transparency in a given application, but a steel
truss system will likely prove to be more flexible in accommodating other design
considerations that might be addressed with such elements as shade systems, louvers,
canopies, screens, or light-shelves, features that can be integrated into the design of and
supported by the truss elements with relative ease.
The following describes generic types of structural support systems, sometimes referred to
as “backer-structures” in the industry, which are used in structural glass facades.
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