Facade Engineering
The skin is the building's hardest-working layer. Engineer it.
Engineer the building's skin — systems, materials, physics, structure, weatherproofing, glazing, detailing, fire, fabrication, BIM and sustainability — taught for architects and facade engineers, grounded in both global standards and Indian codes.
Global standards + Indian codes · last verified 2026-06-29
- Read any facade as a system of control layers and loads — not a surface.
- Choose between curtain wall, rainscreen, double-skin, precast and other systems with reasons.
- Run the core facade calculations — wind load, U-value, SHGC/RETV, glass thickness, deflection.
- Detail the critical interfaces and weatherproofing that decide whether a facade lasts.
- Navigate fire, fabrication, BIM and sustainability — under both global standards and Indian codes.
What a facade really is
It looks like the building's face. It works like the building's skin — and that one shift in thinking changes everything you'll design after it.
Begin the lessonThe course, module by module
12 modules · 48 lessonsModule 0 · Ground Rules
4 liveBefore systems and calculations: what a facade actually is, the four jobs its layers do, who engineers it, and how it gets built from concept to handover.
- What a facade really is
- The four control layers (and structure)
- Who engineers the skin
- How a facade gets built
Module 1 · Facade Systems & Typologies
4 liveThe system families — curtain wall, window wall, structural glazing, rainscreen, double-skin, precast, ACP, masonry and stone — and how to choose between them.
- Curtain wall: stick vs unitized
- Window wall, structural & point-fixed glazing
- Rainscreen, ventilated & double-skin facades
- Heavy facades: precast, ACP, masonry & stone
Module 2 · Materials & Finishes
4 liveWhat facades are made of — glass, aluminium, steel, stone, terracotta, composites and the gaskets, sealants and fixings that hold it all together.
- Glass: float, toughened, laminated, IGU
- Aluminium & steel: extrusions & finishes
- Stone, terracotta, GFRC & composites (ACP)
- Gaskets, sealants, tapes & fixings
Module 3 · Building Physics & Performance
4 liveHow the envelope controls heat, sun, light, moisture and sound — and the energy codes (ECBC, Eco-Niwas Samhita, ASHRAE) that set the targets.
- Thermal: U-value & thermal bridges
- Solar: SHGC, shading, VLT & glare
- Condensation, vapour & acoustics
- Energy codes: ECBC, ENS & global
Module 4 · Structural Design of Facades
4 liveThe loads a facade must carry and the movement it must absorb — wind, seismic, dead and thermal — and the glass, brackets and anchors that resist them.
- Loads: wind, dead, live & seismic
- Deflection limits & movement
- Glass structural design & thickness
- Brackets, anchors & embeds
Module 5 · Weatherproofing & Air/Water
4 liveHow facades leak and how engineers stop them — pressure-equalised rainscreens, air and water tightness, drainage, testing, and the Indian monsoon.
- How facades leak: rain penetration
- Pressure equalisation & drained design
- Air & water tightness
- Performance testing & the monsoon
Module 6 · Glazing & Glass Engineering
4 liveGlass as an engineered structural material — IGUs, structural silicone glazing, point fixing, safety, breakage and high-performance coatings.
- Glass processing & the IGU
- Structural silicone & point-fixed glazing
- Safety, breakage & thermal stress
- Solar-control coatings & switchable glass
Module 7 · Detailing & Interfaces
4 liveWhere a facade succeeds or fails — the typical section, the critical interfaces at slab, parapet and base, openings, and movement joints.
- The art of the facade detail
- Critical interfaces: slab, parapet, base
- Openings: windows, doors, louvres
- Movement joints, tolerances & buildability
Module 8 · Fire, Safety & Codes
4 liveLife safety on the skin — facade fire spread, cavity barriers, the cladding-combustibility lessons of Grenfell, NBC fire provisions, and maintenance access.
- Fire & the facade: spread & barriers
- ACP/cladding fire: the Grenfell lessons
- NBC fire, safety glazing & fall protection
- Maintenance & cleaning access (BMU)
Module 9 · Fabrication, Procurement & Install
4 liveTurning design into a built facade — shop drawings, mock-ups and testing, tendering and specs, site installation, tolerances and quality control.
- From design to shop drawings
- Mock-ups: VMU, PMU & testing
- Tendering, specs & the supply chain
- Site installation, tolerances & QA/QC
Module 10 · Facade BIM, Computation & Tools
4 liveThe digital facade workflow — BIM and coordination, parametric design, performance simulation, and the documentation and data that carry a facade to site.
- Facade BIM & the digital workflow
- Parametric & computational facades
- Performance simulation (energy, daylight, CFD)
- Documentation, data & digital twins
Module 11 · Sustainability, Innovation & Capstone
4 liveThe facade's future — embodied carbon and circularity, energy-positive and kinetic skins, green walls and recladding — ending in an end-to-end capstone.
- Embodied carbon & circularity
- Energy-positive: BIPV, double-skin, kinetic
- Green walls, retrofit & recladding
- Capstone: engineer a facade end-to-end