Course Description

Every glass facade you see on a commercial building hangs on brackets — and the forces on a curtain wall bracket are higher than on a rainscreen bracket, because the mullion collects load from a full storey of facade and delivers it to one or two points. This comprehensive technical CPD course covers the brackets and fixings of stick and unitised curtain walling: what the bracket types are, how the arrangement defines the structural model of the mullion, and how the anchor in the narrow slab edge is verified. .

You'll learn the principle that organises everything: every mullion section needs exactly one fixed point that carries its weight, and every other connection must let it move. The course covers the two physical bracket types — the angle bracket and the spigot connection — and the hole logic that decides their function: round holes lock, slotted holes slide. It then works through the bracket arrangements used in practice, the loads on the bracket including the eccentricity moment and the push-pull pair it creates at the anchors, unitised panel brackets and their movement behaviour, anchors in narrow slab edges, cast-in channels, and the thermal break and material questions that follow. .

Presented by Eugene Korch (facade engineer and IAST Programme Director), the course pays particular attention to the practical warnings: why anchor placement within the bracket height matters, why a movement joint on the wrong side gives one mullion two dead load brackets and its neighbour none, and why the slab edge must be verified against the actual geometry rather than the drawing. Combining the full calculation sequence in one view — tributary area, reactions, eccentricity, anchor checks — with a review of the errors seen on real projects, this course is designed to give you a curtain wall bracket design you can carry out, check, and defend. .


Included in Facade Intelligence Professional Membership (FI PRO)

Enrolment open — Course starts 29 October 2026

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • State the organising principle: one fixed point per mullion section, with every other connection free to move

  • Identify the two physical bracket types — angle brackets and spigot connections — and where each is used

  • Apply the hole logic: round holes lock and carry dead load, slotted holes slide and restrain wind only

  • Read the mullion structural model from the bracket arrangement: simply supported, continuous, hung, or seated

  • Describe the common bracket arrangements: one bracket serving two mullion sections, two separate brackets, the continuous mullion, and the two-zone bracket

  • Place the movement joint correctly relative to the bracket, and recognise the failure that follows when it sits on the wrong side

  • Collect the loads on a curtain wall bracket: the full-storey dead load, the wind reaction, and any barrier loads

  • Understand the eccentricity moment and the push-pull pair it creates, and why anchor placement within the bracket height matters

  • Explain what unitised brackets do, why they are always proprietary, and how a rigid panel follows a deflecting slab

  • Verify anchors in narrow slab edges where edge distance governs, and know when cast-in channels are the answer

What's Covered

Introduction

The full design sequence in the order real projects follow — from the rail capacity to the anchor and the pull-out test on site.
Manufacturer data treated as the working tool it is: load tables, European Technical Assessments, and anchor design software, used correctly.
The eccentricity moments given the attention they deserve — the single most common omission in bracket design.
Site reality throughout: mixed substrates, studs that miss, slab edges that moved, and heavy cladding that no single bracket can carry.
Real project errors examined — starting from the bracket instead of the rail, the wrong ETA table entry, the untested refurbishment substrate.

Every Mullion Needs Two Types of Support

Vertical support for dead load and lateral restraint for wind.
One fixed point per mullion section, everything else sliding.
How the bracket arrangement defines the mullion structural model.

Two Physical Bracket Types

The angle bracket on the slab edge: the standard stick curtain wall detail.
The hole logic: round holes lock, slotted holes slide.
The spigot connection: the system insert profile doing double duty.
Locked and free spigots, and what each does.

Bracket Arrangements in Practice

One bracket per storey serving two mullion sections.
The movement joint position: which mullion hangs and which sits.
Two separate brackets, the continuous mullion, and the two-zone bracket.
The warning: a movement joint on the wrong side doubles one mullion's dead load and orphans its neighbour.

Loads on the Curtain Wall Bracket

Dead load of everything one mullion carries between dead load points.
The wind reaction from the mullion model.
Barrier loads where people can lean on the glazing.
The eccentricity moment and the push-pull pair at the anchors.
Why anchor placement within the bracket height matters.
Load combinations with every applicable action included.

Unitised Curtain Wall Brackets

Panels hanging from the upper slab: what the bracket does and does not do.
Why unitised brackets are always proprietary.
The spigot preventing panel rotation under building movement.
A rigid panel on a deflecting slab: where the load really goes.

Anchors and Fixings

The narrow slab edge: 200 to 300 millimetres, where edge distance governs.
Cast-in channels: reliability bought with early coordination.
Anchor design from the European Technical Assessment.

Movement Accommodation

The fixed dead load bracket and where the movement actually happens.
Sliding restraints wherever a section has more than one connection.
The spigot gap and thermal expansion.
Installation adjustment versus in-service movement: two different slots.

Thermal Performance and Materials

The curtain wall bracket on the warm side: a different thermal picture from rainscreen.
Thermal breaks in the mullion profile.
Spandrel zones and the insulation bypass.
Bracket materials and the isolation of aluminium from concrete.

The Calculation in One View

Tributary area, dead load, wind reaction, eccentricity.
The anchor checks: tension, shear, interaction, and the real edge distance.

Summary and Checklist

The key differences from rainscreen brackets.
The most common errors from real projects.
What comes next: the mullion and transom calculation that produces these reactions.

Course Schedule

    1. Course Overview

    2. Course Objectives

    3. How to Navigate the Learning Materials

    1. Introduction

    1. Lecture

    2. Post-Lecture Reading List

    1. Certificate: Download & Share

About this course

  • £120.00
  • Practice test questions
  • CPD Certificate: 1 hr
  • Interactive 3D models

Your Instructors

Programme Director, IAST Eugene Korch

Eugene is a façade engineer and educator with extensive experience in building envelope design and technical specification. Through the Institute for Architectural Science and Technology (IAST) and Facade Intelligence, he delivers CPD training to architects and construction professionals across the UK. His teaching approach emphasizes practical application and accessibility, making complex technical subjects understandable for design professionals.

Who Should Enrol

This course is designed for:

Architects needing to understand how curtain walls hang on buildings and where the connections concentrate risk.
Architectural Technologists working with curtain wall details and slab edge interfaces.
Envelope Designers coordinating bracket zones, slab edges, and cast-in channels early in design.
Façade Specialist Contractors requiring a working knowledge of bracket arrangements and anchor verification.
Junior Façade Engineers learning curtain wall bracket design and the hole logic behind it.
Building Envelope Consultants advising clients on curtain wall engineering and interfaces.
Structural Engineers needing to understand the forces arriving at their slab edges and the case for cast-in channels.
Project Managers overseeing projects where slab edge coordination and channel procurement affect programme.
Cost Consultants understanding how bracket arrangements and anchor choices drive curtain wall cost.
Design Managers coordinating façade and structural packages.

Course Details

Format: Self-paced online course with video lectures.
Available from: 29 October 2026.
Duration: Approximately 1 hour.
CPD Points: 1 hour structured CPD / 1 Learning Unit.
Access: 12 months from enrolment.
Certificate: CPD certificate issued upon completion.
Prerequisites: None — introductory level. Pairs naturally with Bracket and Fixing Design for Cladding Systems.
Materials: Downloadable resources and reference guides included.

What Makes This Course Different

The hole logic made explicit: round locks, slotted slides — the single detail that decides which bracket carries the building's glass.
The bracket arrangement treated as what it really is: the definition of the mullion's structural model.
The eccentricity push-pull pair at the anchors explained, and why anchor placement within the bracket height matters.
Unitised behaviour demystified: rigid panels on deflecting slabs and the spigot that keeps them from rotating.
Real project warnings throughout — movement joints on the wrong side, nominal slab edges, and channels ordered too late.

Joining options

  • £120.00

    Free for Facade Intelligence Professional Members (FI PRO)

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