EricL said:
what is a window wall?
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Someone will likely come along with a much more technical explanation but basically there is Window Wall and Curtain Wall. Most of the towers with mullions and spandrel that you see in Toronto (most of the condos) use a window wall, whereas most office towers use a curtain wall that is hung from the building, sort of. Window wall is much less expensive and from my understanding better with the weather we deal with in Toronto for heating as curtain walls are all glass and thus not easy to heat or cool inside.

Someone chime in with a more technical explanation though haha
 
EricL said:
what is a window wall?
Click to expand...
Here's a pretty good recap of what @Nastapoka provided me with when I was curious about the differences between the two. I have a good general understanding, but it's always great to learn more about the two:

-Curtain wall hangs in front of the floor slab and is anchored back to the slab at each level to support the dead load of each story of glazing. Window wall typically sits on the slab edge spanning from floor to floor with a spandrel panel "cap" over the exposed slab edge
-Assembly wise, curtain wall enclosures are glazed from the exterior as opposed to interior. Window wall panels are installed from the interior.
-Performance wise, curtain wall can act as a rainscreen, meaning water that penetrates joints is designed to drain along a secondary drainage plane within the joint. Window wall systems are face-sealed, any water infiltration is a failure in the system.
-Window wall also relies heavily on the joints at each floor level. Differential settlement/movement can lead to air and water leakage. Curtain wall, because it hangs off the slab, can absorb differential movement between it and the concrete/steel structure.

It gets a lot more complicated when you look at different types of curtain and or window wall: stick-framed vs unitized curtain wall or hybrid window wall, but I think those are the basics.
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Window wall cant be all bad can it? Is there a building in Toronto that is an example of good quality window wall?
 
Curtain wall is nicer. Too much SSG curtain wall can be boring as well. A large part of the cluttered look is Toronto's propensity to have venting through the facade over using all those balcony floors slabs or a centralized system extending to the roof. This effects the cleanliness of curtain wall as well. See 10 York, for example.
 
Window wall with lots of spandrel but, no grill work. Clean

2017-09-09-16-29-34-jpg.120429


image by @dazzlingdave88
 
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