What to Look for in Aluminium Windows for High-Rise Projects

Designing for height isn’t just a vertical challenge — it’s a whole new category of decision-making. Above five storeys, glass doesn’t just let in light. It resists wind. It insulates lives. It carries the weight of regulations, acoustics, thermal efficiency and, yes, aesthetic expectations.

In other words: your window system needs to do a lot more than look good.

So, what really matters when specifying windows for a tower?

Let’s open that up.

1. Wind: The Unseen Engineer

It starts with wind. You can’t see it, but your windows will feel every bit of it — especially the higher you go.

Wind isn’t just a breeze. At 30 storeys, it’s a pressure system. A force. It pushes, flexes, lifts. And it’s not optional. According to AS/NZS 1170.2, your system needs to hold its shape — and its seal — against serious pressure. We’re talking upwards of 3000 Pascals or more.

So what do we do at Hunter Windows? We test for it. Under AS 2047, our commercial systems go through wind pressure, water penetration, and deflection testing. Some even go beyond N6 — which, if you’re wondering, is what you’d want on a windswept coastline or the top of a coastal high-rise. Your tower might not face cyclones — but at 30 storeys, your windows still need to act like it could.

2. Energy and Sound: The Invisible Comforts

You don’t always notice a high-performing window — and that’s the point. It’s the difference between a conference room that quietly holds its climate, and one where everyone’s sweating through their 11am.

Thermal performance matters because:

• There’s more glass up there, catching sun from all angles

• HVAC systems are expensive and increasingly regulated

• Green ratings (NABERS, Green Star) are expected — not a nice-to-have

At Hunter Windows, we integrate thermally broken frames, Low-E glass, and double glazing as standard across our commercial systems. Want thicker glass? Laminated? Acoustic? Triple? We’ve done it all — and yes, it makes a difference.

Sound is the other silent battle. Trucks below. Light rail. Nightlife. Office towers with cafés underneath. The higher you build, the more sound finds creative ways in. That’s why acoustic performance matters as much as U-values.

3. Safety: Because Gravity Doesn’t Compromise

You’d be surprised how often fall prevention gets missed — or worse, misunderstood.

Regulations like AS 1288, AS 2047, and AS 4284 exist because glass, when poorly selected or installed, becomes dangerous. And in high-rise apartments, every opening needs to account for child-safety restrictions, restrictor hardware, and compliant installation.

At Hunter Windows, we don’t just supply the window. We think about how it will perform on Level 18, installed by a team who may not have read the spec sheet front to back. So we build-in the requirements. We test. We document. And — because this is NSW — we help developers and certifiers meet their obligations under the RAB Act with clear traceability and compliance support.

4. Size and Structure: Making Glass Look Effortless

There’s a quiet kind of showmanship in high-rise design — the floor-to-ceiling glazing, the minimal mullions, the barely-there hardware. But behind that elegance? Real structural muscle.

At Hunter Windows, we’ve supplied large-format fixed panels, oversized sliding doors, and custom-framed façades to towers and podiums across the state. Our aluminium systems are reinforced where they need to be, and we’ll engineer the span to suit your wind zones, slab-to-slab heights, and sill details.

The glass might look like it’s floating. But don’t worry — we’ve done the maths.

Want the biggest possible window you can fit in your plan? Talk to us. We love pushing the limit (responsibly).

5. The Earlier, the Better

Windows are one of the last things installed — but one of the first decisions you should make.

We’ve seen it too many times: the glazing gets value-engineered too late, and suddenly your stunning north-facing elevation is a patchwork of framing compromises.

Engage early, and we can help you:

• Choose the right system for your wind zone and energy targets

• Lock in thermal and acoustic values that support your NCC compliance

• Provide the documentation you’ll need for Design and Building Compliance Declarations under the RAB Act

• Coordinate site-specific delivery, staging, and install sequencing

Ready to Build Skyward?

We’ve worked with developers, builders and architects on towers across the region. And while every site is different, our focus is the same: delivering aluminium window and door systems that stand up to the wind, the code, and the test of time.

Let’s talk about your next tower. We’ll help you make the right decisions early — and deliver them with certainty.