Curtain walls comprise two primary AutoCAD Architecture 2021 toolset objects: Curtain wall styles and curtain wall unit styles. Curtain walls can also use door, window and door/window assembly styles as infills.
Curtain Wall Styles
Naming Conventions:
As with other style types, the naming for curtain walls should be as descriptive as possible, but because curtain walls can be even more varied and complex in their structure than door/window assemblies, you should not expect to fully describe the details of the style in the name:
<Major Element (Descriptive) + <Major Element (Descriptive)>...
Example Curtain Wall Style Names:
| Curtain Wall Style Definition |
Example Name |
|---|
| A curtain wall whose first floor cell assignment consists of wide mullions meant to simulate wall panels, with a 4’ x 4’ pattern of standard window mullions and glazing panels above. |
Mass Base + 4x4 Grid Above
|
| First floor with stone panels, revolving doors and glazing above in variable pattern (perhaps with nested assemblies or curtain wall unit styles as infills). |
Stone Base + Revolving Doors + Variable Grid Above
|
Best Practices for Curtain Wall Styles:
- All curtain wall components should have materials assigned to them.
- The “Model display representations of curtain wall components should follow “By Material” settings.
- The “Elevation” display representations components should be assigned colors with the display rules of your 2D Section/Elevation styles in mind. Using colors that are coordinated with those styles can be used to automate linework properties in section and elevation objects.
- Naming of curtain wall components: In order to minimize confusion when editing curtain wall styles, you should be descriptive and consistent when naming the components of the style. In general, each name should end with the type of curtain wall element it refers to. For example, an infill name might be “Stone Panel Infill.” In particular, care should be taken to name grids and the divisions they are based on. A grid using a division named “First Floor Vertical Division” should be named “First Floor Vertical Grid.”
Curtain Wall Unit Styles
Naming Conventions:
Curtain wall units, while similar in many respects to door/window assemblies and curtain walls, are limited to simple panel infill definitions. The naming conventions are similar to those for curtain walls, but you can also include indicators of cell adjustment parameters as well:
<Major Element (Descriptive) + <Major Element (Descriptive)>...<Optional Cell Adjustment Parameter)
Example Curtain Wall Unit Style Names:
| Curtain Wall Unit Style Definition |
Example Name |
|---|
| A curtain wall unit with 2 x 2 glazing panels: |
2 x 2 Glazing
|
| A curtain wall unit with 4’ wide glazing panels, mullions coming to a point at the top, with the side cells set to grow until a new 4’ panel can be added: |
Glazing 4-0 Grow + Pointed Mullions
|
Best Practices for Curtain Wall Unit Styles:
- All curtain wall Unit components should have materials assigned to them.
- Unless a curtain wall unit is to be scheduled as a separate item, you should not classify curtain wall unit styles.
- The Model display representations of curtain wall unit components should follow “By Material” settings.
- The “Elevation” display representations components should be assigned colors with the display rules of your 2D Section/Elevation styles in mind. Using colors that are coordinated with those styles can be used to automate linework properties in section and elevation objects.
- Naming of curtain wall unit components: In order to minimize confusion when editing curtain wall styles, you should be descriptive and consistent when naming the components of the style. In general, each name should end with the type of curtain wall element it refers to. For example, an infill name might be “Stone Panel Infill.” In particular, care should be taken to name grids and the divisions they are based on. A grid using a division named “First Floor Vertical Division” should be named “First Floor Vertical Grid.”