Brise soleil

Brise soleil, sometimes brise-soleil (breez-soh-ley, from French, "sun breaker"), in architecture refers to a variety of permanent sun-shading techniques, ranging from the simple patterned concrete walls popularized by Le Corbusier to the elaborate wing-like mechanism devised by Santiago Calatrava for the Milwaukee Art Museum or the mechanical, pattern-creating devices of the Institut du Monde Arabe by Jean Nouvel.

In the typical form, a horizontal projection extends from the sunside facade of a building. This is most commonly used to prevent facades with a large amount of glass from overheating during the summer. Often louvers are incorporated into the shade to prevent the high-angle summer sun falling on the facade, but to also allow the low-angle winter sun to provide some passive solar heating.

Gallery

ee also

*Awning
*Green building
*List of low-energy building techniques
*Mashrabiya
*Pergola
*Sudare

External links

* [http://www.mam.org/visit/details/detail_burke.php Brise soleil at the Milwaukee Art Museum]
* [http://www.al-bab.com/bys/articles/windows.htm British-Yemini Society] Influence of climate on window design