The Role Of Detail In Sustainable Curtain Walls Renovations Of Buildings' Elevations After Explosion Accidents In IRAQ

Abstract

The outer envelope is still one of the most important functional elements of the building; buildings' elevations represent fundamental components which define the architectural aspect of the building and reflect the critical role of energy performance and its interaction with the internal activities. As in the case with developed techniques which represent the modern technology that aim to provide the best, many options had become available to improve the performance of buildings' elevations as an envelope for building. The building envelope is considered as a first and direct line of defense against environmental and physical exposures just like the skin of a human. Curtain walls, as a type of building envelope, represent a key component as an outer surface with non-load bearing property and without affecting the structural stiffness.

Hence, the knowledge gap is defined as how to clarify the role of detail and its influence on the definition of curtain walls and the integration of its elements, as well as the functional and aesthetic vocabulary under the concept of sustainability, especially in the renovation of buildings' curtain walls that were subjected to explosions in Iraq, as in Karada explosions in July 2016 Fig. 1. This represents the research problem. The research aims to highlight the role of detail and its impact on the curtain walls under the concept of sustainability through an integrated vision on the system to reflect new ideas with assembled details in a new system, focusing on function, components and mechanisms of curtain walls.