Curtain wall (glass facade)
Also called: curtain walling, glass facade, structural glazing, building facade
A curtain wall is the continuous aluminium-framed glass outer skin of a modern tower — the floor-to-ceiling glazed facade you see on Dubai's high-rises. The name is literal: it hangs on the building's structure like a curtain and carries no structural load; its whole job is to keep out weather, wind, water and heat while letting light in. For a resident this matters mainly for responsibility: the curtain wall is normally part of the building's common facade, so a failed seal, a leaking joint or a foggy sealed unit in it is typically an owners'-association / facade-maintenance matter — not a window you fix yourself like a villa's. Facade upkeep (resealing joints, swapping failed units, cleaning at height) is specialist rope-access / high-access work, best handled by an aluminium and glass facade team through the building, not a one-off handyman.
Related terms
Low-E glass (low-emissivity)
Glass with an invisible heat-reflecting coating — the single biggest glazing upgrade for cutting AC load in the UAE.
Spacer & desiccant (sealed-unit edge)
The edge bar that holds a double-glazed unit's panes apart and the drying agent inside it — the parts whose failure fogs your glass.
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