Stick vs. Unitized Curtain Wall: Which System Fits the Building?

What each system actually is

A stick curtain wall arrives as material: aluminium lengths, glass, brackets and gaskets. The envelope is assembled stick by stick on the building. It is the oldest and most flexible method in the industry, and for one-off envelopes usually the most economical.

A unitized system arrives as factory-glazed panels that are installed bracket by bracket. It is established for major multi-storey and high-rise programmes and can also suit repeated residential or public-building elevations when panel size, lifting strategy and logistics are engineered around the project.

The real trade-offs

Stick trades time for money: cheaper per square metre, slower on site, and more weather-dependent because glazing and sealing happen in the open. Unitized trades money for time: higher fabrication cost, dramatically faster installation, and factory-controlled sealing that removes most weather risk from the critical path.

Site logistics matter as much as the numbers. A tight urban site with no storage space favours unitized — panels go from truck to building within a day. A relaxed site with a patient programme favours stick.

When stick wins

One-off envelopes with bespoke geometry. Programmes where envelope installation is not on the critical path. Budget-led projects where site labour is affordable and available. Buildings of three storeys and under, where the speed advantage of unitized rarely repays its premium.

When unitized wins

Short weather windows — in cold climates, unitized can be the difference between closing the building before winter or not. Repeating panel grids, which make fabrication efficient. Sites with zero storage. Programmes where every week of crane hire costs more than the cassette premium.

The strongest unitized cases are buildings where repetition, controlled factory glazing and a floor-by-floor enclosure sequence produce measurable programme value.

Our default recommendation

For one-off geometry and flexible site assembly, stick often wins. For repeated multi-storey grids, towers and compressed enclosure programmes, unitized deserves early study. Bring the drawings, programme and site constraints: the system should follow the project, never the reverse.