When you enter a hotel lobby and find that the whole glass wall appears to be floating with nothing obviously supporting it, you’re seeing structural glazing in action. There are no mullions, no visible frame, merely glass and a small number of subtle stainless steel fittings which take on all the structural duties. The effect looks easy, but achieving it is by no means easy.
Structural glazing creates a frameless glass facade by using point-fixed hardware, spider fittings, patch fittings, or glass fins, rather than conventional aluminium mullions; stainless steel spider fittings pass through the glass at fixed points and transmit the wind load back to the building’s structure, particularly in lobbies, atriums, and entrances.
The way the various types of hardware function, and the specific aspects that must be designed properly for reliability, are as follows.
What Structural Glazing Actually Replaces
In the case of a standard curtain wall, the structural load is carried by continuous aluminium mullions and transoms that span the entire height and width of the facade; structural glazing works in reverse by concentrating support at a small number of fixed points on the glass itself, thus almost eliminating the visible frame. The result is that each of those few fixing points has to carry much more load than any single point on a continuous mullion ever did.
The Three Main Hardware Types
Spider Fittings
A spider fitting is a stainless steel connector with several arms extending from a central point, secured through pre-drilled holes at the corners of each glass panel. For most applications, either a 2-way or a 4-way arrangement is used, the choice depending on how many neighbouring panels meet at that location. They are the type of hardware most commonly found on large exterior facades, canopies, and atriums, since they can take on structural loads while remaining visually unobtrusive.
Patch Fittings
Patch fittings are of the flat plate type and are generally used on glass doors and on smaller entrance fittings rather than on complete facades; they are more inconspicuous than spider fittings and are therefore suitable for boutique frontages and for office entrances where the main consideration is achieving a clean and minimal appearance on a small scale of glass.
Glass Fins
Rather than using a metal mullion for support, a glass fin employs a vertical piece of glass as the support, attaching it to the main facade using the same spider hardware. This is the closest approach to a fully glass structure, since even the supporting element is transparent, thereby producing the real floating effect in luxury lobbies and showrooms.
Why Stainless Steel Grade Matters in the UAE
Different kinds of stainless steel behave differently in this climate. 316-grade stainless steel resists corrosion from salt air and humidity to a much greater extent than lower grades, which is very important for coastal projects in the UAE, where lower-grade fittings can begin to show pitting and staining after just a few years.
Where Structural Glazing Gets Used
The most frequently used situations are entrances to buildings, the atriums of hotels and malls, retail frontages, and canopies located over drop-off areas, in all cases where the requirement is for maximum transparency and a strong feeling of openness rather than a traditional framed appearance.
Engineering Considerations: It’s Not Just Aesthetic
Since, in the case of point-fixed glazing, the load is concentrated at a small number of fixing points rather than being distributed along a continuous frame, the structural calculations required must be accurate rather than approximate. When carrying out a wind load analysis, it is necessary to consider precisely how much force each fitting must withstand, rather than merely the wind load on the facade as a whole.
The choice of glass is just as important as that of the hardware; in the case of point-fixed structural glazing, toughened or laminated safety glass is typically used since the glass is now sharing in the structural role and has to fail in a safe way rather than in a catastrophic one if it is ever damaged.
Hardware Comparison at a Glance
| Fitting Type | Visual Look | Typical Use | Key Consideration |
| Spider fitting | Minimal, multi-arm connector visible at corners | Large facades, atriums, canopies | Confirm 2-way or 4-way configuration matches your panel layout |
| Patch fitting | Flat, discreet plate | Glass doors, small entrances | Best suited to smaller-scale glazing, not full facades |
| Glass fin | Transparent structural support | High-end lobbies, showrooms | Requires precise structural calculation for the fin itself |
Checklist Before You Specify Structural Glazing
Confirmed wind load has been calculated per individual fixing point, not just the overall facade.
Verified fitting hardware is 316-grade stainless steel, especially for coastal or high-humidity sites.
Confirmed glass is toughened or laminated safety glass suitable for structural point-fixing
Matched the fitting type (spider, patch, or fin) to the actual scale and location of the application
Checked your fabricator has verifiable experience installing structural glazing, not just standard curtain wall.
FAQ
What is the difference between patch fittings and spider fittings?
Spider fittings are multi-arm connectors used on large facades, canopies, and atriums because they must carry a real structural load. Patch fittings, on the other hand, are flatter and more discreet plates and are generally used on glass doors and smaller entrance assemblies.
Can structural glazing be used safely in the exterior of buildings in the UAE climate?
Yes, provided that it is specified correctly; this involves using 316-grade stainless steel hardware to resist corrosion and ensuring that the wind load is properly calculated at each fixing point, rather than adopting a general specification from a different climate.
Is structural glazing only suitable for the entrances of high-rise buildings or can it also be used on the facades?
It is most frequently employed in lobbies, entrances, atriums, and canopies rather than on the entire façade of high-rise buildings, mainly due to the engineering complexity and the cost of large-scale point-fixing. It is a design decision made for specific dramatic moments in a building and is not generally used for the entire exterior.
What stainless steel grade should be used for spider fittings in the UAE?
Grade 316 is the recommended standard for the conditions in the UAE because it offers greater resistance to corrosion from salt air and humidity than lower grades.
How Leskor Metal Industries Supports Your Structural Glazing Project
Structural glazing only works when the engineering, hardware, glass and installation are handled as one system. When these are split among several suppliers, gaps can appear, and in point-fixed glazing a small gap can become a serious failure. At Leskor Metal Industries, we handle the full process under one roof.
Design and engineering first. Our in-house facade engineers begin with the calculations. They work out wind loads for each individual fixing point, not just an average across the whole facade. They also check that the spider or patch configuration suits your panel layout, and they size glass fins for the actual loads they will carry.
The right hardware for the UAE climate. We specify 316-grade stainless steel spider fittings, patch fittings and connectors for exterior and coastal work. This helps your facade resist the salt air, humidity and heat that cause lower-grade hardware to pit and stain early.
Precision fabrication in Dubai. Our factory in Dubai Industrial City runs European CNC machinery and automated cutting lines. This keeps tolerances tight on the supporting steel and aluminium elements, which point-fixed glass depends on.
Specialist installation. Installing structural glazing is a different job from installing a standard curtain wall. Our teams handle glass drilling alignment, fitting installation and panel setting with the care that frameless glass requires, from hotel lobbies and mall atriums to retail frontages and drop-off canopies.
One partner from concept to handover. With design, engineering, manufacturing and installation handled by one team, you have one point of responsibility for how your structural glazing performs, from the first drawing to the finished facade.
Planning an entrance, atrium or glass feature wall? Contact Leskor at info@leskor.ae or +971 4 4953200 to discuss your structural glazing requirements.
Ready to Bring That Frameless Look to Your Project
Structural glazing requires a high degree of accuracy in the hardware, glass, and engineering involved. If you are planning an entrance, an atrium, or a feature wall that should have a carefree appearance, you can find out from exactly what your project needs to achieve this safely.
