Can you translate the following two text extracts into English please?
1. Die äussere, nichttragende Schale liegt bei den Bandfenstern auf
den Brüstungen der Innenkonstruktion gleitend auf.
2. Der statische Aufbau wird tragendes Element der Gebäudestruktur und
äussert sich dementsprechend auch in der Gestaltung der Fassade als
auch in der Organisation des Gebäudes.

Hello leander1

1. At the strip windows, the external non-load-bearing shell floats
upon the parapets of the inner construction.

2. The static construction becomes the supporting element of the
building structure and manifests itself accordingly in the design of
the façade as also in the arrangement [or layout, or organization] of
the building.

Reference sources

Leo English-German Dictionary http://dict.leo.org/ 
Also Langenscheidt’s Concise German-English Dictionary (my own hard
copy)

I took a guess at “strip window” being an architectural term, and
confirmed it by means of a Google search:
“Locally, glass was used sparingly and long, narrow, horizontal
windows are visible on many of the Bauhaus buildings in Tel Aviv…. 
The horizontal ‘strip window’ was a signature characteristic of Le
Corbusier. A number of local architects worked in Le Corbusier’s
office in Paris and were greatly influenced by his style.”
http://www.gemsinisrael.com/e_article000020552.htm

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Request for Answer Clarification by leander1-ga on 27 May 2003 06:03 PDT

I= think your answer is great, but are you quite sure about "floats"
for "liegt gleitend auf"?

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Clarification of Answer by tehuti-ga on 27 May 2003 06:38 PDT

Hello leander1,

I understand aufliegen to mean "to rest on (something)" "to be
supported by (something)" "to overlie (something)", while gleitend
means "floating", "gliding" or "sliding". So the impression is of
something sitting very loosely on top of something else, with an
implication of a retained capacity for motion.  I used "float" because
I could not think of a more "architectural" way to describe this
concept.

I think your answer is great - but are you quite sure about "floats"
for "liegt gleitend auf"?