Detailing Stick-System Façades: A Practical Approach

Façades are the most visible part of a building, yet they do not receive the attention they deserve in education – and they should! Façades play an important role in creating a healthy indoor environment, contribute to sustainable building practices, and are key in reducing operational costs due to their potential longevity. Above all, they can give a building the beautiful look that sets it apart from any other in the surroundings.

International experts from TU Delft, TU Darmstadt and Eurac Research have teamed up to create a series of courses on façades engineering to close this knowledge gap. This course will provide you with an in-depth exploration of façade detailing, with a focus on a stick façade system. This entails deciding on the system, the material and the connection between the façade and the building in the design process. Get it wrong and the façade will leak or worse still, break!

We are going to do it in a thorough and practical way. You will be guided step-by-step through the development process of façade details using an example. You will gain knowledge of detailing, stick systems, and the materials available for these systems. You will learn to interpret façade details, and draw the typical details of a stick-system façade, which will demonstrate your understanding of how the various fields impact the design. While we focus on only one type of façade system, our aim is to provide you with enough confidence to begin applying structural, building physics, and construction concepts to the detail drawings of other façade systems.

The course is developed for (aspiring) architectural engineers who seek more information about, and practice with, façade detailing. Here we understand the detailing process as the individual technical design development of an engineer, composing various technical solutions to fulfill various functions of façades. Before beginning this course, learners should have a background in architecture, structural engineering, or similar field.

Module 1 - Systems and Geometry

We will focus on explaining what a detail is and what we use it for, and common façade detail systems in three materials -aluminum, steel and wood. A hand-sketched example will serve to illustrate the decision-making process for developing a grid layout to enclose an opening in the façade.

Module 2 – Define the Geometry and Details

You will appraise how the proposed grid layout from the example in Module 1 will impact material choice, construction tolerances, and movement allowances on the final grid layout. Several standard details will be selected to explain the system, and interface details to define the boundary between the stick system and the surrounding.

Module 3 – First Set of Details

Learners will experience the process of developing the standard details through a series of hand-sketching sessions . This will include a general stick-system detailing and the three different connection details of the stick system to the wall.

Module 4 – Second Set of Details

The focus is now on the details for a typical door in a stick system. You will learn to critically assess the completeness of the details in the design.

Module 5 – Assessment from Engineers

A structural designer, a building physicist, and a construction engineer will assess the requirements of the detail for each of their disciplines. Their feedback will be integrated into a new sketch of the final set of details.

Module 6 – How to Get it Built and Final Documentation

You will be exposed to the process of getting the developed façade and its details to life. We will discuss the impact of system alternatives, common mistakes, preparing for the tendering (bidding) process, shop drawings, and on site construction limitations.