Modern-day architecture is often characterized by glass buildings – like the Marina Tower in Melbourne, Australia . Many find them attractive because they are transparent; they bring more daylight inside and offer great views. In terms of maintenance, however, they are a challenge.

Building maintenance units (BMUs) are used to keep the outside of a building in good condition. Question is, how do these systems meet the demands of such unique glass structures? Let’s see how BMU’s are used for maintenance work on glass facades.

Understanding maintenance for glass buildings

To be able to withstand wind, snow loads, thermal stress and impacts, strengthened glass is used on the outer surface of glass buildings. But, in extreme conditions, even strengthened glass could break. In most cases, broken glass cannot easily be repaired and therefore needs to be replaced.

A BMU should therefore facilitate workers to easily execute window replacements, and allow for safe transport of glass panels to the place of the repair.

Also, glass on the outside of buildings is frequently exposed to rain and dust. If nothing is done about that, ugly stains appear on the surface of the glass. Dirty windows spoil the light and the view inside glass buildings, which has a negative effect on the whole ambiance. Therefore, cleaning work on glass buildings occurs more frequently than on other buildings – glass needs to be kept clean and clear as much as possible.

This means that Building Maintenance Units for glass buildings should be designed for frequent use and minimum downtime. For glass facades, anything less than top quality facade access equipment will not suffice.

Customized BMU’s

There is a strong preference for BMUs that retain the aesthetic appeal of glass buildings. With customized building maintenance units, workers can access the hard-to-reach places, no matter how complex the design of a glass building may be.


And even when an extensive system is needed to provide access to heights, it is not impossible to put BMU’s out of sight when they are not in use. Some of the best examples of
fully customized BMU’s can be found here.

We create a diversity of different BMU’s for any mid- and highrise building

The National Bank of Kuwait

A great example of a fully customized BMU is the the 62-floor, 300-m tall National Bank of Kuwait (NBK). This building is a unique roofless structure with glass facades. We provided the world’s heaviest and most complex BMU inside of this roofless building. The facade access equipment used here is customized to be completely integrated in the design of the building, so that it is not visible when not in use. Also, our BMU’s are equipped with an extra hoist that can lift heavy glass panels in case windows need to be replaced.

Contact us to find out how our BMU’s can make facade access easier for you.

One of our fully customized BMU’s