Which is better, glass curtain wall or aluminum veneer curtain wall?

The most likely choice for exterior wall decoration curtain wall is glass curtain wall and aluminum veneer curtain wall. No matter which kind of curtain wall, choosing glass curtain wall or aluminum veneer curtain wall mainly depends on the style requirements and the effect achieved by your building. Glass curtain wall focuses on beauty and atmosphere, while taking into account architectural aesthetics and visual effects. Aluminum veneer curtain wall focuses on strong plasticity and good artistic effect. Today, Zhongdong Curtain Wall will talk to you about which is better, glass curtain wall or aluminum veneer curtain wall? Introduce the advantages and disadvantages of these two curtain walls.

What is glass curtain wall?
The common exterior curtain wall form of glass curtain wall is mainly composed of glass panels and supporting structures (such as metal frames), which are covered on the surface of the main structure of the building by fixing or hanging. It is not only the outer protective structure of the building (protecting the building from external environmental influences such as wind, rain, temperature, etc.), but also has significant decorative and functional properties. It is widely used in high-rise buildings, commercial complexes, office buildings, office buildings, factories, shopping malls and other buildings.

What is aluminum veneer curtain wall?
Aluminum veneer curtain wall is an exterior wall decoration system with aluminum alloy plate as the core material. It is installed on the facade of the building through a metal frame or direct fixing method. It is both functional (protecting the building structure) and decorative.

Advantages and disadvantages of glass curtain wall

1. Excellent lighting and vision
✅ Maximizing natural light: The large area of ​​glass design allows sufficient natural light to enter the room, reducing the need for artificial lighting and improving the brightness of the space.
✅ Broad vision: Especially suitable for high-rise buildings, providing unobstructed city views or natural scenery, and enhancing user experience (such as hotels and office buildings).
2. Modern aesthetic effect
✅ High-end and fashionable appearance: Glass curtain walls give buildings a transparent and light visual effect, which is suitable for modern style, super high-rise landmark buildings (such as Shanghai Tower and Apple headquarters).
✅ Reflection and light and shadow changes: Glass can reflect the sky and the surrounding environment, making the building present a dynamic beauty at different times.
3. Lightweight structure
✅ Reduce building load: Compared with stone or concrete exterior walls, glass curtain walls have a lighter weight, reducing the load-bearing pressure of the main structure of the building.
4. High construction efficiency (especially unitized curtain walls)
✅ Modular installation: Some glass curtain walls (such as unitized ones) can be prefabricated in the factory and directly hoisted on site, shortening the construction period.
5. Energy saving potential (depending on the type of glass)
✅ Insulated glass, Low-E glass: can effectively insulate heat and sound, and reduce air conditioning energy consumption.
✅ Photovoltaic glass: Some new curtain walls can integrate solar cells to achieve building photovoltaic integration (BIPV).
Disadvantages of glass curtain walls
1. Thermal performance issues (ordinary glass)
❌ Greenhouse effect in summer: Single-layer glass or inferior insulating glass may cause indoor overheating and increase air conditioning energy consumption.
❌ Fast heat dissipation in winter: Glass insulation is not as good as solid walls, and HVAC systems are required in cold areas.
Solution: Use Low-E coated glass, vacuum glass, double/triple-layer insulating glass.
2. Light pollution
❌ Reflected glare: Glass reflections may disturb drivers and pedestrians, or cause light pollution to surrounding buildings
3. Safety hazards
❌ Risk of self-explosion: Tempered glass has a self-explosion rate of about 0.3% (caused by nickel sulfide impurities), and falling from high altitude may injure people.
❌ Weak impact resistance: Extreme weather (typhoons, hail) or human damage may cause breakage.
Solution: Use laminated glass (sticks to the film after breaking and does not fall off) or explosion-proof glass.
Advantages of aluminum veneer curtain wall
1. Lightweight & high strength
✅ Light weight (2.5~4.0kg/m²), much lower than stone (≥60kg/m²), reduces the load on the building structure, and is suitable for high-rise buildings.
✅ Wind pressure and impact resistance: Aluminum alloy has high strength and can withstand extreme weather such as strong winds and hail.
2. Excellent weather resistance
✅ Corrosion resistance: Surface fluorocarbon spraying (PVDF) or anodizing treatment, resistant to UV, acid rain, salt spray, life of 20~30 years.
✅ No fading: High-quality coating maintains color stability for a long time, avoiding the fading problem of traditional coatings.
3. Flexible modeling and high design freedom
✅ Customizable shape: Through bending, punching, engraving and other processes, complex designs such as curved surfaces, special shapes, and hollowing can be achieved (such as Guangzhou Opera House).
✅ Rich colors: Support any RAL color number, imitation wood grain/stone grain effect, to meet personalized needs.
4. Convenient installation and high construction efficiency
✅ Modular installation: Unitized aluminum veneer can be prefabricated in the factory and directly hoisted on site to shorten the construction period.
✅ Adapt to complex structures: Suitable for non-standard architectural forms such as curved surfaces and broken lines.
5. Fireproof & environmental protection
✅ Class A non-combustible material, in line with fire protection regulations, high safety.
✅ Recyclable, the aluminum alloy recycling rate exceeds 90%, which meets the green building standards.
6. Low maintenance cost
✅ The surface is smooth, not easy to accumulate dust, and easy to clean (just rinse with a high-pressure water gun).
✅ Strong stain resistance, rainwater can keep the appearance clean.
Disadvantages of aluminum veneer curtain wall
1. High cost
❌ The unit price is more expensive: Compared with traditional materials such as real stone paint and tiles, the price of aluminum veneer is higher (about 300~800 yuan/m²).
❌ Auxiliary structure cost: A metal skeleton (steel or aluminum alloy) is required to increase the total cost.
2. General thermal insulation performance
❌ Metal conducts heat quickly, is easy to transfer heat in summer, and dissipates heat quickly in winter, and an additional insulation layer (such as rock wool) needs to be installed.
Solution: Use composite aluminum plate (aluminum-plastic plate) or combine with insulation materials.
3. High requirements for joint treatment
❌ Aging of sealant: Long-term exposure may cause cracking of the glue joint and cause water seepage problems.
❌ Thermal expansion and contraction: The expansion rate of aluminum plate is high, and expansion joints need to be reserved in the design, otherwise it is easy to deform.
4. Weak acoustic performance
❌ The sound insulation effect is general, and the single-layer aluminum plate has limited noise insulation, so it needs to be used with sound insulation materials.
5. Partial damage is troublesome to replace
❌ After damage, the whole piece needs to be replaced, and the maintenance cost is high (especially for special-shaped plates).

Glass door area and aluminum veneer curtain wall each have their own advantages and disadvantages. If you really want to make a curtain wall, you can use a combination of glass curtain wall and aluminum veneer curtain wall. First design the rendering of the curtain wall and then see if it is worth doing it. The architectural aesthetics and functional requirements can achieve different effects.

Zhongdong Curtain Wall provides high-quality curtain wall system solutions to meet your personalized requirements. Whether you are looking for a custom glass curtain wall or an aluminum veneer curtain wall, our team will help you realize your vision. We will help you provide an ideal curtain wall system for your building’s exterior, combining architectural aesthetics with functionality. If you are interested in glass curtain walls, aluminum veneer curtain walls, or other curtain walls, please email us at monikachenwall@gmail.com or call us at +86-17727814139, and we will arrange for customer service to contact you as soon as possible.