Butt-glazed curtain wall

[JamesVan]

Has anyone ever created butt-glazed curtain wall in Revit? It seems that when you offset the mullion behind the glass, the glass still breaks at the width of the mullion. :x

Is there a workaround for this, or is it a wishlist item?

- JV

[christopher.zoog51272]

I messed around with a butt Glazed system that uses tension rods, a few weeks ago. I used specialized curtain panels to simulate the "spider" clamps and spacers. I'll see if I can find it when I get home tonight.

This reminds me of a new wishlist item, I want to be able create mullion families! That way with could create "glass fin" style butt glazed systems, and many more things, for that matter. Mullions are one the last "system" families left. It's time they (the profiles) became user definable :!:

[Tibor]

James,

To create a butt-glazed effect, I made a new (1/4" x 1/4") mullion type and adjusted its offset by about 1" so that the mullion is between the glass. This "mullion" looks like silicone bead between the glass panels.

[JamesVan]

That works great for resolving the glass issue and any exterior views, but we still need the mullion behind the glass.

I like Z's suggestion to have mullion profiles as families. That way we could model the backup mullion and the sealant gap as one shape. 8)

[David Conant]

The best results we have had in our testing is to use no mullions, but instead design a curtain panel family that is cut back slightly from the ref planes that define its size. Fill this residual space with simulated sealant if you like. At each corner, build 1/4 of the spider that links the panels together. You may want special edge panels if your edge support is differnt than the spiders. This technique can be used to model a number of complex panel edge conditions. It will only work if all panels are rectangular since only rectangular panels can be family based at this time.

David Conant AIA
Autodesk Revit

[Tibor]

David,

Would you please post or email me a sample file of the setup you describe so I can study it?

Thanks!

[cmahoney]

Is this what you need?

[sbrown]

Thanks Chris.

[JamesVan]

Finally got a chance to examine these sample files. I think we have a winner! :D Could use a bit of refinement, but that's what we're looking for. Thanks again.

[sbrown]

This seems to work well at first glance, its basically just taking the panels an offseting them away from the wall, so then you just need to make an additional mul type for the the top and bot. of the wall.

[bradonw]

Has anyone ever created butt-glazed curtain wall in Revit?

I searched for hours to an answer to this same question. There were many suggestions to make it happen but none of them worked. Then I figured it out by accident after I had given up.

The key is offsetting the panels instead of the mullions. Make sure you are using the "Curtain Wall" type because the others won't work.

1. Select one of the panels.
2. In the Type Properties dialog box, change the offset enough to 'clear' the mullion.
3. The panels should automatically butt up against each other.

[luigi]

Wow...this was back from 2003...I believe this was even when we weren't able to have a custom mullion profile....things are different now. I'm glad you found how to make the butt glazed mullion, but your corners won't look good if you keep the glazing in front of the curtain wall location line...you'll have a gap. If you offset the mullion and even use a custom mullion that has the sealant joint to capture the glazing, your corners then will look better.

Take care, Luigi

I searched for hours to an answer to this same question. There were many suggestions to make it happen but none of them worked. Then I figured it out by accident after I had given up.

The key is offsetting the panels instead of the mullions. Make sure you are using the "Curtain Wall" type because the others won't work.

1. Select one of the panels.
2. In the Type Properties dialog box, change the offset enough to 'clear' the mullion.
3. The panels should automatically butt up against each other.

[johncubed209967]

btw This works for the Storefront type as well as the Curtain Wall type at least in 2012.