Structural Engineering
Ten Lectures, One Continuous Chain of Numbers — From Load Path and Wind Pressure to Brackets, Framing, Glass, Reports, and the Movement the Building Never Stops Making
Course Description
A façade is fixed to the building but must never help to hold it up. Almost everything in façade structural engineering follows from that one sentence: what the façade carries, what it must be allowed to follow, and where the responsibility of the façade engineer ends. This ten-part technical CPD programme is the complete structural calculation course for building façades — the whole discipline, in the order real projects follow, from first principles through every calculation to the documents that leave the desk.
You’ll learn to read the structural hierarchy of any façade system, compile the full load schedule for a project, calculate wind pressures to the Eurocode and the UK National Annex, design and verify brackets and fixings for rainscreen and curtain walling, size mullions and transoms, check insulated glass units, write and review calculation reports, and calculate the movements and tolerance stacks that decide every joint width on the building. The programme is built as a single chain: the wind pressure of Part 4 becomes the line load on the mullion in Part 7, the mullion reactions become the bracket loads of Parts 5 and 6, the same pressures set the glass build-up in Part 8, and every result ends up in a report that someone who was not there has to trust.
Presented by Eugene Korch (façade engineer and IAST Programme Director), the programme works from real project material — wind calculations, bracket schedules, load tables and European Technical Assessments, glass static analysis reports, tolerance schedules, and anonymised report extracts. It pays particular attention to the errors that actually occur on projects rather than the ones that look dramatic: the terrain boundary taken from the administrative map, the eccentricity moment left out, the movement joint on the wrong side of the bracket, the cavity pressure forgotten, the ambiguous bracket description, the adjustment slot already consumed by the time the façade arrives.
Combining complete worked calculations with system-by-system comparison, failure case studies, and the reporting and coordination discipline that surrounds the numbers, this programme is designed to take you from understanding what a façade calculation is, to carrying one out, checking someone else’s, and defending your own.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
-
Explain what façade structural engineering covers, where the façade engineer’s responsibility ends, and what data passes in each direction between façade and structural engineer
-
Read the structural hierarchy of any common façade system and name its critical element and governing calculation before any numbers are written
-
Compile the complete load schedule for a project, and separate genuine loads from the movements the façade must follow rather than resist
-
Carry out a full wind load calculation to EN 1991-1-4 and the UK National Annex, from the wind map to the net design pressure on every zone of the façade
-
Design and verify brackets and fixings for both rainscreen and curtain walling, including eccentricity moments, anchors in concrete and light steel framing, and proof-load testing on site
-
Size curtain wall mullions and transoms from the deflection limit, and explain in three layers why stiffness rather than strength governs aluminium framing at storey height
-
Understand what drives a glass build-up, and check an insulated glass unit for wind, barrier and cavity pressure loads with load shared between the panes
-
Calculate movements and tolerance stacks, size joints and specify sealants for the worst credible combination, and diagnose movement-related failure from its visible symptoms
-
Produce and review calculation reports that are traceable, with a conclusion the project can use in seconds and limits of applicability that hold
-
Follow the whole chain of numbers from wind pressure to anchor capacity, and identify which link governs on any given project
What's Covered
Introduction to Structural Aspects
Why the structural calculation of a façade matters, what the programme covers, and the objectives of each module.
The defining principle: fixed to the structure, never helping to hold the building up.
The façade engineer and the structural engineer: two different questions about the same wind.
Load path, building movement, and why an aluminium mullion is sized by stiffness.
Eurocodes and National Annexes: same principles everywhere, local numbers.
The course map: where each lecture sits and what it delivers.
Structural Logic of Façade Systems: A Comparative Guide
The elements of each façade system that require calculation.
The universal load path: the panel, the intermediate elements, the connection.
Stick and unitised curtain wall, rainscreen, precast, masonry, double-skin, point-fixed glazing, cable nets, louvres, and balustrades.
The critical element and governing calculation of each system — the mullion, the panel joint, the shelf angle deflection, the crane lift, the pre-tension.
Determinate and indeterminate load paths, and what the model choice buys and costs.
Where ordinary competence ends and specialist structural glass and cable engineering begins.
Engineering the Envelope: Structural Load Assessment for Façades
The loads acting on the façade, and how each one is quantified.
The complete load list: dead load, wind, barrier, impact, thermal, seismic, snow and ice, maintenance, blast, acoustic, moisture, and fire.
Dead load paths system by system, and the glass thickness rule of thumb with its trap.
The three independent barrier checks, and impact testing of the installed element.
Genuine loads versus movement demands: the distinction that decides where the effort goes.
Load combinations: ultimate against serviceability, and what each check actually protects.
Wind in Action: Practical Wind Load Calculations for Façade Design
The wind loading calculation, from the wind map to the pressure on every zone.
The full chain from the national wind map to the net design pressure, zone by zone.
Terrain categories and real fetch, displacement height, orography, and peak velocity pressure by both routes.
Pressure zones, the parameter e, loaded area, and why the corner zone takes the worst suction.
Internal pressure and the sign convention, dominant openings, and funnelling between buildings.
A complete worked calculation for a real building, every intermediate value on screen.
Bracket and Fixing Design for Cladding Systems
Brackets and fixings for rainscreen and other cladding systems.
The five-step sequence, beginning from the rail capacity rather than the bracket.
Tributary loads, fixed and sliding points, and the eccentricity moments most often left out.
Bracket selection from manufacturer load tables; fixings into light steel framing, concrete, and cast-in channels.
Force distribution across a fixing group, and anchor design from the European Technical Assessment.
Proof-load pull-out testing on site, thermal break pads, materials, and the galvanic pairs to avoid.
Bracket and Fixing Design for Curtain Walling Systems
Brackets and fixings for stick and unitised curtain wall systems.
One fixed point per mullion section, with every other connection free to move.
Angle brackets and spigot connections, and the hole logic: round holes lock, slotted holes slide.
How the bracket arrangement defines the structural model of the mullion.
The eccentricity moment, the push-pull pair at the anchors, and anchor placement within the bracket height.
Anchors in the narrow slab edge, cast-in channels, and rigid unitised panels on a deflecting slab.
Mullion and Transom Design for Curtain Walling Systems
The structural calculation of curtain wall mullions and transoms.
The four steps in fixed order: loads, model, forces and deflection, section and strength.
Wind pressure into a line load; glass weight into point loads at the setting blocks.
Deflection limits, and the calculation turned around to solve for the required second moment of area.
Why stiffness governs, in three layers: geometry, material, and manufacturer economics.
Local buckling as the real strength check, and reactions the bracket designer can trust.
Theory and Standards for Insulated Glass Unit Analysis
The theory and the standards behind every insulated glass unit calculation.
The glass family: annealed, heat strengthened, toughened with its nickel sulphide risk, laminated, enamelled, and chemically strengthened.
Safety classification by pendulum impact test, and the North American approach to the same risk.
What determines a build-up: acoustics, thermal performance, solar control, safety, fire, structure, and panel size.
Sealed unit behaviour: cavity coupling, load sharing between panes, and cavity pressure — the load most often forgotten.
Reading a glass static analysis report, its stress limits table, and the four errors found in real reports.
Reports Preparation: General Requirements
The general requirements every façade calculation report must satisfy.
The three principles of a checkable report: traceability, a findable conclusion, and stated limits of applicability.
What each report delivers and what the reviewer traces: wind, bracket and fixing, profile, glass, movement and tolerance.
The most dangerous error: the ambiguous description of where a bracket type applies.
Hand calculations and software calculations, and how each earns trust in its own way.
Independent checking of inputs and output schedules, and the pre-issue checklist.
Façade Movement and Tolerances
The movement and tolerance report, and the coordination it drives.
Every movement type: thermal, moisture, creep, dead and live load deflection, sway, seismic drift, settlement, and differential column shortening.
Tolerance stacking, the pre-installation survey, and the adjustable bracket as the primary tolerance tool.
How each system accommodates movement: stick, unitised, precast, masonry, rainscreen, render, light steel framing, and double-skin.
Sealant movement classes and joint width calculation, gasket compression range, and the perimeter gap.
What goes wrong and why: glass-to-frame contact, oil-canning, sealant failure, gasket blow-out, masonry and render cracking.
Course Schedule
-
-
Welcome Message
-
Course Objectives
-
How to Navigate the Learning Materials
-
-
-
MC026-01 - Course Materials
-
-
-
MC026-02 - Course Materials
-
-
-
MC026-03 - Course Materials
-
-
-
MC026-04 - Course Materials
-
-
-
MC026-05 - Course Materials
-
About this course
- £750.00
- Practice test questions
- CPD Certificate: 20 hrs
- Self-paced Online Course
Your Instructor
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 the complete structural picture of the façade, from load path and system choice to reviewing the reports.
Architectural Technologists working with façade details, profile depths, and specifications across systems.
Envelope Designers seeking to fix governing loads, framing depths, bracket zones, and glass build-ups early in design.
Façade Specialist Contractors requiring a working knowledge of every calculation in the façade package.
Junior Façade Engineers building the discipline in order, from first principles through the calculations to reporting.
Building Envelope Consultants advising clients on system selection, verification, and quality assurance.
Structural Engineers needing to understand what the façade engineer calculates independently, and what the façade package requires from them.
Project Managers overseeing projects where the façade package carries significant cost, programme, and risk.
Cost Consultants understanding how system choice, wind zoning, spans, glass specification, and tolerance management drive cost.
Design Managers coordinating façade and structural packages and the documents that pass between them.
Course Details
Format: Self-paced online course with video lectures.
CPD Points: 20 hours structured CPD / 20 Learning Unit.
Access: 12 months from enrolment.
Certificate: CPD certificate issued upon completion.
Prerequisites: None — introductory level.
What Makes This Course Different
The whole discipline in one programme: ten lectures in the order real projects follow, from first principles to movement and tolerances.
One continuous chain of numbers: wind pressures feed the framing, framing reactions feed the brackets, the same pressures size the glass, and every result ends up in a report.
Complete worked calculations throughout: wind loading, bracket forces, mullion and transom design, and joint sizing — with every intermediate value shown on screen.
System-by-system comparison across stick and unitised curtain wall, rainscreen, precast, masonry, rendered, and double-skin façades.
Real project errors named rather than implied: the terrain boundary trap, the omitted eccentricity, the forgotten cavity pressure, the movement joint on the wrong side, and the Plywood Palace.
Reporting and coordination treated as engineering, not administration: traceability, limits of applicability, and the movement and tolerance report agreed before work starts.
International outlook with the United Kingdom as the primary reference — the same principles everywhere, local numbers.
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].
