There are various architectural features that can be installed to make the best use of natural light, and, indeed, to provide the best protection from the sun’s heat and light. They can also contribute to the sustainability of a structure by optimising the flow of light and heat. Glass louvres, external louvres and brise soleil are all features that provide benefits on different buildings and in different conditions. Bespoke solutions are the only way to get the best out of the available light and heat.
A brise soleil is an architectural feature, usually attached over the side of a building and designed to provide a particular level of sun-shading and stop the face of the building from overheating in the hottest months of the year. The feature can also provide other benefits, such as an increased level of privacy for the building’s face, or reduced glare from early morning/late evening sunshine. In their concrete incarnation they were popularised by pioneer of modern architecture Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, otherwise known as Le Corbusier. However, they have taken countless forms over the years, including the huge, movable wings of the Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by Santiago Calatrava. When they are full extended, the iconic Milwaukee wings stand at 217 feet over the structure. In an original and subtle form, they are present in Jean Nouvel’s 1980 edifice, the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) in Paris. These take the form of apertures in the glass wall panels, which open and close at each hour of the day.
On non-structural walls, glass louvres can be a way of providing light-shading by using lightweight materials at relatively low construction costs. External louvres can be used cleverly to resolve two issues at once: avoiding overheating during the hot summer months, when the sun beams down from a high angle, and harnessing the light of the winter sun.
So, depending on the building – the conditions that surround it, and the angles and temperatures of the sun on its faces – any of these features could be a viable solution. Glass louvres are a great solution to achieve internal day-lighting in a building, and are very cost-effective. The brise soleil is versatile, and can be extremely aesthetically pleasing and, if deployed intelligently, can make the structure look really state of the art. External louvres can be deployed in a multitude of different ways, and so they offer quite a scope for creative solutions.
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