The brise soleil, first developed by Le Corbusier in first part of the last century, is a pretty simple sun-shading structure that is added to buildings (or else integrated in the initial design and construction). Its purpose is to control the amount of sunlight reaching a surface, often a broad glass façade, thereby ensuring that temperatures remain within a comfortable range inside. They take various forms and amounts of complexity, with some of the more intricate versions providing aesthetic appeal to a building as well as a useful function. The commonest simple forms are horizontal configurations that are attached to the vertical face of a building and prevent some sunlight from hitting the surface. Other similar approaches are glass louvres – with various types of finish and in different designs – or other kinds of external louvres.
The huge variety of designs and materials used in the manufacture of louvres can make for some quite innovative approaches. For example, glass louvres can be coated with reflective material or tinted to refract light and decrease glare within the building. However, these can also be combined with photovoltaic (PV) cells, a type of solar panel. This means that not only are you not affected by the unpleasantly high levels of sunlight in the building, but that sunlight is made into a useful form of energy. This makes the office space more comfortable, and reduces bills – as well as being more environmentally friendly. There are therefore a range of reasons to opt for louvres as a climate-control choice. An increasing number of developments are being designed with these in mind from the start.
The brise soleil is the most basic of the choices you can make for controlling the amount of passive heating a room or face of a building has. It is often also the cheapest option as a result. It can be retro-fitted, although in lots of cases will be part of the design – some of the most famous buildings in the world use a brise soleil in their make-up. Glass louvres and other types of external louvres (such as aluminium) offer more flexibility and some truly imaginative design features. They also offer the opportunity to incorporate solar cells into them, allowing you to generate power as well as keep the building cooler. The option you go for will depend on a number of things, including your budget and the size and nature of the space you have to cover. Some companies specialise in fitting louvres to existing buildings, whereas if you are starting from scratch there is more scope for integrating them into the building’s appearance.