{"id":1004105690,"date":"2014-10-30T06:43:06","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T14:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004105690"},"modified":"2022-12-08T20:51:32","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T04:51:32","slug":"modern-curtain-walls-4-simple-steps-to-avoiding-costly-disputes-performance-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/modern-curtain-walls-4-simple-steps-to-avoiding-costly-disputes-performance-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Modern Curtain Walls: 4 Simple Steps to Avoiding Costly Disputes & Performance Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brent Gurney, Andrew Cohn and Joshua Ferrentino<\/em>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"Andrew

Andrew Cohn<\/p><\/div>\n

There is no feature of a modern building that is more visible\u2014and few that are more critical\u2014than its curtain wall.\u00a0 If the curtain wall fails or does not perform properly, the integrity and value of the building can be substantially impaired.<\/p>\n

The curtain wall appeared on the architectural scene in the early 20th century, when structures such as the famous Hallidie Building in San Francisco, a seven-story structure faced with glass and cast iron, began the shift away from the heavyweight masonry building styles popular in the 19th century.\u00a0 Since then, the curtain wall has become the ubiquitous external feature of many contemporary buildings.<\/p>\n

As they have become a common construction technology, the complexity of curtain walls has increased greatly.\u00a0 As computer-aided design and materials science have pushed the boundaries of what is possible for curtain walls, the modern high-end curtain wall design and has come to have more in common with automotive or aerospace technology than traditional construction.\u00a0 These are highly engineered building \u201cenvelopes\u201d of incredible complexity, built with advanced materials requiring very tight tolerances<\/p>\n

\"Joshua

Joshua Ferrentino<\/p><\/div>\n

Curtain wall components are likely to be assembled off-site in sophisticated manufacturing facilities, using components drawn from numerous suppliers.\u00a0 A curtain wall (glazing system) subcontractor is likely to employ dozens of its own architects, engineers, and designers, who can implement an architect\u2019s vision for a free-form geometric fa\u00e7ade, create a wall that will generate electricity with integrated solar panels, or an enclosure that will respond to weather and daylight conditions using built-in sensors, lighting, and shading devices.<\/p>\n

\"Gurney_Brent_low\"

Brent Gurney<\/p><\/div>\n

When a curtain wall glazing system is designed, fabricated, and installed properly, it can be a technological marvel\u2014a gorgeous and high-performing building skin.\u00a0 When something goes wrong along the way, however, the inherent complexity in curtain walls can make it difficult to determine the cause of the problem, or to assign responsibility.<\/p>\n

A building owner will want to ensure that it is not stuck holding the bag for defective work. \u00a0A general contractor will want to ensure that it is not forced to pay for a poor design or for subcontractor work that is subpar. \u00a0In the event that a curtain wall problem ripens into a dispute, each party\u2019s rights will depend not only on the quality of the pre-construction performance specifications, the terms of glazing system warranties, and other documents, but also on being diligent and holding the \u00a0relevant counterparties to account.<\/p>\n

Here are four ways that owners and contractors alike can protect themselves from being stuck with costly repairs and disputes, or an expensive building enclosure that doesn\u2019t perform:<\/p>\n

Act quickly if problems appear<\/b>
\nThis is a particularly important consideration for an owner.\u00a0 Under the terms of a typical construction contract, an owner is in the strongest position if it requests corrections to work within one year of substantial completion (and, from a practical perspective, while it still holds retainage during the contractor\u2019s completion of punch list items).\u00a0 Additionally, the statute of limitations for many claims is likely to begin running from the date substantial completion, or from the date that a contractor or architect completes his work on the site.\u00a0 For other types of claims, such as breach of a warranty, the clock may begin ticking when the warrantor fails to honor a request for repair.\u00a0 No owner wants to be in a situation where it is left holding the bag from someone else\u2019s errors because it failed to be assertive early in the game.\u00a0 When a potentially serious defect surfaces, both owner and contractor alike should retain experienced legal counsel early on who can act as a strategic advisor, connect you with the right technical experts, and make sure that your rights are protected.<\/p>\n

Rely on your experts<\/b>
\nDuring the design, pre-construction, and construction phases, owners and contractors alike should press specialty subcontractors, architects, and consultants to provide information about the expected performance of design elements.\u00a0 As your experts, they should be able to tap into industry knowledge about the performance of a given material or design feature.\u00a0 That\u2019s why you hire them.\u00a0 Make sure system performance specifications in all contracts cover the full range of weather conditions a building will likely experience.\u00a0 Require pre-installation testing of mock-ups to confirm the ability to satisfy specifications.\u00a0 If something you see in a drawing or a mockup worries you, ask about it\u2014and either get it fixed or get assurances in writing from the professionals that the as-installed element will perform as required without reworking.\u00a0 It is in a contractor\u2019s interest to engage in this type of diligence as much as it is for an owner, as finding and fixing potential snags early in the construction process may avoid costly delays, repairs, retrofitting, or disputes later on down the road.<\/p>\n

Make sure the construction contracts and other documents assign responsibilities clearly.<\/b>
\nFrom the owner\u2019s perspective, it is advantageous to make the architect, contractor, and subcontractors responsible for success\u2014not just for complying with the letter of the specifications.\u00a0 In particular, an owner will want to make sure the contract documents place with the glazing subcontractor and other relevant suppliers the responsibility for delivering a successfully performing curtain wall system, and not just an aggregation of exacting dimensions and complex materials.\u00a0 From the general contractor\u2019s perspective, it makes sense to place responsibility for success on specialty subcontractors with appropriate subject matter expertise.\u00a0 And every party\u2014from the owner down to the subcontractors\u2014benefits from documents that are clear about who must do what.\u00a0 Investing the time to make sure documents are well-crafted can go a long way toward avoiding headaches for all parties down the road.<\/p>\n

Get extended warranty coverage<\/b>
\nIn complicated curtain wall systems, problems may appear right away, or they may surface years later once a building is occupied, subjected to several seasonal cycles of weather, or other events.\u00a0 It may be prudent to for owners to press contractors and suppliers for lengthier than normal warranties, especially for particularly complex or untested elements.\u00a0 And if potential problems crop up after construction begins, or even after substantial completion, don\u2019t be afraid to propose warranty extensions: these can be beneficial for all parties involved as they can avoid hastily filed and costly litigation and allow more time to investigate and reach a mutually satisfactory solution.<\/p>\n

As architects, component manufacturers, contractors, and owners continue to break new ground in the design and installation of complex curtain walls, the appearance of challenges and disagreements is inevitable.\u00a0 However, with careful diligence and the right expert assistance and strategic advice, these challenges need not ripen into problems that detract from the value of the building that all parties have invested enormous resources to create.<\/p>\n

About the Authors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brent Gurney and Andrew Cohn are partners at the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.\u00a0 Mr. Gurney, a member of the firm\u2019s Business Trial Group, is an experienced trial and courtroom lawyer who specializes in complex, high stakes litigation.\u00a0 Mr. Cohn, a member and former chair of the firm\u2019s Real Estate Practice Group, has handled major transactions in more than 20 states, involving the financing and development of office buildings and other major projects, and also has extensive experience with leasing, management agreements, construction and ground leasing.\u00a0 Messrs. Cohn and Gurney have frequently collaborated as representatives and strategic advisors to clients on complex curtain wall design and performance issues. Cohn and Gurney thank Joshua Ferrentino, a former associate at WilmerHale, for his contributions to the article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is no feature of a modern building that is more visible\u2014and few that are more critical\u2014than its curtain wall. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1335,"featured_media":1004106417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22251,21742],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004105690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-focus","category-latest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nModern Curtain Walls: 4 Simple Steps to Avoiding Costly Disputes & Performance Problems - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/modern-curtain-walls-4-simple-steps-to-avoiding-costly-disputes-performance-problems\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Modern Curtain Walls: 4 Simple Steps to Avoiding Costly Disputes & Performance Problems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is no feature of a modern building that is more visible\u2014and few that are more critical\u2014than its curtain wall.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/modern-curtain-walls-4-simple-steps-to-avoiding-costly-disputes-performance-problems\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-30T14:43:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-09T04:51:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2014\/10\/Curtain_Wall.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"michaelratliff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/modern-curtain-walls-4-simple-steps-to-avoiding-costly-disputes-performance-problems\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/modern-curtain-walls-4-simple-steps-to-avoiding-costly-disputes-performance-problems\/\",\"name\":\"Modern Curtain Walls: 4 Simple Steps to Avoiding Costly Disputes & Performance Problems - 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