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Our current series of Explainer articles look at the cladding of buildings. Last week we looked at Curtain Wall, Window Wall, and Mullions, and the week before that we looked at Spandrel, all part of the all-or-mostly glass exteriors that we so much of in new buildings. Today we look at Brise Soleils, an architectural element used on some glass buildings to cut down on heat transmission, and to filter the amount of light that makes it inside buildings, down to more comfortable levels for people who work or live in them.
Given contemporary environmental challenges, including increased temperatures globally, and our use on non-renewable resources for heating or air conditioning, the question of how cities will mitigate natural disruptions and adapt to changes in our environment is fundamental to contemporary urban planning practices. LEED Certification is one solution that helps to promote greener planning practices, and can incorporate many different design tools and technological building innovations.
One design feature that architects can employ to mitigate the affects of sunlight on buildings is the brise soleil, which can reduce a building’s heat and sunlight absorption — and in turn reduce our dependence on non-renewable resources — while also providing a striking aesthetic addition to urban landscapes.
Brise soleil is a French term that translates to ‘sun breaker’ in English, and refers to an architectural screen that is applied to a building’s exterior to reduce heat gain and the amount of sunlight that can penetrate a building's windows. Sometimes located on exterior balconies, brise soleils may take a number of different forms. While their design varies from basic, blank shades to those that allow some amount of sun through, sometimes creating complex geometric patterns through light and shadow, they provide an engaging — and increasingly essential — solution to reducing the amount of heat released into buildings. While variations of brise soleils — such as sunshades, awnings, and pierced screens — have been used in architectural design throughout history, particularly in warmer climates, brise soleils in their modern context became increasingly popular in the early 20th century after their adoption by architect Le Corbusier in the 1930s.
When designing the Brazilian Ministry of Education and Health in Rio de Janeiro in 1937, (above and below), Le Corbusier envisioned the building’s adjustable baffles as a way to control the amount of sunlight — and ensuing heat — allowed to enter the building. With moving louvres, the building's aluminum brise soleil panels allow for the Modernist building to maintain its detailed by unfussy windowed exterior, while also mitigating the amount of heat it absorbs.
The Quadracci Pavilion — below, a 2001-completed extension to the Milwaukee Art Museum designed by architect Santiago Calatrava — is an innovative example of how brise soleil design can be used to greater integrate buildings with the natural environment. The building’s unique canopy is made of 72 steel fins that create a striking visual impact and can also move to increase or decrease the light allowed into the building’s interior in response to wind speed and direction.
For Pentagram, the design studio charged with re-envisioning the New York Times Building, brise soleils became a way to increase the iconic building’s visual impact in the city’s crowded streetscape. Completed in 2008 and comprised of 170,000 ceramic rods, the building’s brise soleils allow its curtain wall to visually impose the New York Times' iconic logo onto Eighth Avenue while reducing the building’s energy use.
Completed in 1987, L'Institut du Monde Arabe (the Arab World Institute) in Paris is a breathtaking example of brise soleil design. Designed by architect Jean Nouvel in partnership with 18 Arab countries as a way to increase Arab representation in France, the building incorporates the complex, decorative geometries of Arab architectural design into the building’s sleek, modern structure.
In Toronto, a current example of a new building employing brise soleils for practical and aesthetic effects is the new St Lawrence Market North Building, now under construction at Front and Jarvis streets. The Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners design in conjunction with Adamson Associates Architects uses orange pierced screen brise soleils that extend from the second, third, and fourth floors of the otherwise all-glass curtainwall covered structure, to add detail and solidity while providing plenty of filtered light to the interior.
Have any other construction and development related terms that you would like to see featured on Explainer? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments section below!
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From 2015 to 2017, UrbanToronto and its sister publication, SkyriseCities, ran an occasional series of articles under the heading Explainer. Each one took a concept from Urban Planning, Architecture, Construction, or other topics that often wind up in our publications, and presented an in depth look at it. It's time to revisit (and update where necessary) those articles for readers who are unfamiliar with them. While you may already know what some of these terms mean, others may be new to you. We are publishing or updating and republishing Explainer on a weekly basis. This article is an update of one by Cody Kita that was originally published in 2017.
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Do you have other planning terms that you would like to see featured on Explainer? Share your comments and questions in the comments section below!
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