Introduction to Structural Aspects
What Facade Structural Engineering Is, Where the Facade Engineer’s Responsibility Ends, and How the Full Calculation Course Fits Together
Course Description
A facade is the part of the building most exposed to the weather and most visible to the public — and it is held on by connections that no one ever sees. When the calculations are right, the facade carries wind, weight, and movement for sixty years without anyone noticing it is working. This introductory lecture opens IAST's course on the structural calculation of building facades and gives you the map before the calculations begin.
You'll learn the single most important idea in the discipline — a facade is fixed to the structure but must never help to hold the building up — and where the boundary runs between the facade engineer and the structural engineer: one studies how the whole building responds to wind, the other asks what the largest pressure is on this square metre of facade. The lecture introduces the ideas the rest of the course is built on: the load path from the outer surface to the structure, why the facade follows the building's movements instead of fighting them, and why an aluminium mullion is almost always sized by stiffness rather than strength.
Presented by Eugene Korch (facade engineer and IAST Programme Director), the lecture also explains how facade calculations work internationally — the Eurocodes provide the structural methods, each country sets its own values through a National Annex, and the engineering principles stay the same everywhere, only the numbers change — with the United Kingdom as the primary working example.
The lecture closes with the course map: five modules, from fundamentals through the calculations — wind, brackets and fixings, mullions and transoms, insulating glass units — to reporting, and finally movement and tolerances, which draws everything together. Each later lecture assumes the ideas from the earlier ones, and this introduction is where those ideas are laid down.
Included in Facade Intelligence Professional Membership (FI PRO)
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
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Explain what facade structural engineering is and where the boundary of the facade engineer's responsibility lies
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Understand the division of work between the facade engineer and the structural engineer, and what data passes between them
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State the defining principle of the discipline: a non-load-bearing facade carries only its own weight and the environmental loads, and must never help to hold the building up
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Distinguish non-load-bearing facades from self-supporting and load-bearing external walls
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Recognise which systems sit within normal facade engineering competence and which cross into specialist territory, such as structural glass and cable-net facades
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Describe the load path from the outer surface through the frame to the connection with the structure, for both wind and self-weight
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Explain why the facade is designed to follow the building's movements rather than resist them
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Understand why aluminium curtain wall members are usually governed by stiffness rather than strength, and why the moment of inertia decides the profile size
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Describe how the Eurocodes and National Annexes work together, and why the same principles apply internationally with different numbers
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Know when a calculation is done by hand, when manufacturer data is used, and when specialist software takes over
What's Covered
Why This Course Exists
The façade as the most exposed and most visible part of the building, held by connections no one sees.
Who the course is for and what it assumes: basic structural mechanics, no prior façade experience.
What you will be able to do by the end of the full course.
What Facade Structural Engineering Is, and Is Not
The defining principle: fixed to the structure, never holding the building up.
Non-load-bearing façades versus self-supporting and load-bearing walls.
The façade engineer and the structural engineer: two different questions about the same wind.
Where ordinary competence ends: structural glass, cable nets, precast, and other specialist territory.
A Few Ideas to Start With
The load path: from glass to frame to bracket to building, in every system.
Weight goes down, wind goes sideways: tracing both routes.
Buildings move: slabs deflect, concrete creeps, frames sway — and the façade follows.
Stiffness governs: why an aluminium mullion is sized by deflection, not strength.
Standards, Tools, and Working Internationally
Eurocodes and National Annexes: same principles, local numbers.
The United Kingdom as the working example, with an international outlook.
Hand calculations, manufacturer tables, and anchor design software: the right tool for each problem.
The Course Map
Five modules: introduction, fundamentals, calculations, reporting, movement and tolerances.
The fundamentals: façade systems compared, and the loads acting on the façade.
The calculations: wind, brackets and fixings for cladding and curtain walling, mullions and transoms, insulating glass units.
Reporting: setting out a calculation so it can be verified by someone who was not there.
Movement and tolerances: the closing module that draws everything together.
Next Steps
Where the course goes from here: one layer of skill at a time.
Course Schedule
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Course Objectives
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Introduction Video
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Lecture
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Post-Lecture Reading List
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About this course
- £120.00
- Practice test questions
- CPD Certificate: 1.5 hrs
- 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 what façade structural calculations cover and where responsibilities divide.
Architectural Technologists working with façade details and specifications.
Envelope Designers seeking a structured entry into façade structural engineering.
Façade Specialist Contractors requiring a working knowledge of what their engineers calculate.
Junior Façade Engineers starting out and building the foundations before the calculation lectures.
Building Envelope Consultants advising clients on façade engineering scope and deliverables.
Structural Engineers needing to understand what the façade engineer does independently and what data the façade package requires.
Project Managers overseeing projects where the façade package carries significant cost and risk.
Cost Consultants understanding what drives façade engineering effort and cost.
Design Managers coordinating façade and structural packages.
Course Details
Format: Self-paced online course with video lecture.
Available from: [DATE TBC].
Duration: Approximately 30 minutes.
CPD Points: [CPD POINTS TBC].
Access: 12 months from enrolment.
Certificate: CPD certificate issued upon completion.
Prerequisites: A working grasp of basic structural mechanics (bending, shear, deflection, stress); no prior façade experience needed.
Materials: Downloadable resources and reference guides included.
What Makes This Course Different
The map before the calculations: the whole discipline laid out in one lecture, so every later calculation has a place to land.
The boundary made explicit: what the façade engineer owns, what the structural engineer provides, and where specialist territory begins.
First principles from the start: load path, movement, and stiffness explained before any formula appears.
International outlook with the United Kingdom as primary reference: same principles, local numbers.
A clear course map: five modules, each lecture building on the last, from fundamentals to movement and tolerances.
Join the Facade Intelligence Professional Membership (FI PRO)
Membership fees start from £320 per year
Gain access to all upcoming seminars and a wide range of the most sought-after short courses.
Corporate discounts are available for teams of 10 or more.
For a bespoke quote, please contact our team at [email protected].
