brise soleil
{{Short description|Architectural sunshade}}
{{Italic title}}
File:Two Point Seven Facades Charles Wells Brewery Brise Soleil.jpg in Bedford, England. This photo was taken of the south facing elevation at noon in December, a little before the winter solstice. Note how all the windows are in the shade.]]
Brise soleil, sometimes brise-soleil ({{IPA|fr|bʁiz sɔlɛj|lang}}; {{literal translation|sun breaker}}), is an architectural feature of a building that reduces its heat gain by deflecting incoming sunlight.{{cite book |title=Matter: Material Processes in Architectural Production |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |page=330 |editor1-last=Borden |editor-first1=Gail Peter |editor2-last=Meredith |editor2-first=Michael}} The system allows low-level sunlight to enter a building in the mornings, evenings and during winter but cuts out direct light during summer.{{cite journal |title=Brise Soleil |journal=Two Point Seven Facades |date=2019 |volume=1 |issue=1 |url=https://twopointseven.co.uk/blog/f/brise-soleil |access-date=11 July 2020}}
Types
Brise-soleil can comprise a variety of permanent sun-shading structures, ranging from the simple patterned concrete walls popularized by Le Corbusier in the Palace of Assembly{{Cite web |date=2011-08-10 |title=AD Classics: Palace of the Assembly / Le Corbusier |url=https://www.archdaily.com/155922/ad-classics-ad-classics-palace-of-the-assembly-le-corbusier |access-date=2023-02-13 |website=ArchDaily |language=en-US}} to the elaborate wing-like mechanism devised by Santiago Calatrava for the Milwaukee Art Museum{{Cite web |last=Museum |first=Milwaukee Art |title=Burke Brise Soleil {{!}} Milwaukee Art Museum |url=https://mam.org/visit/burke-brise-soleil/ |access-date=2023-02-13 |website=mam.org}} or the mechanical, pattern-creating devices of the Institut du Monde Arabe by Jean Nouvel.{{Cite web |date=2011-10-02 |title=AD Classics: Institut du Monde Arabe / Enrique Jan + Jean Nouvel + Architecture-Studio |url=https://www.archdaily.com/162101/ad-classics-institut-du-monde-arabe-jean-nouvel |access-date=2023-02-13 |website=ArchDaily |language=en-US}}
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 also to allow the low-angle winter sun to provide some passive solar heating.{{Cite book|title = Dictionary of Construction Terms|last = Tolson|first = Simon|publisher = CRC Press|year = 2014|isbn = 9781317912354|pages = 40|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JPVfAwAAQBAJ&q=brise+soleil&pg=PA40}}
Gallery
{{gallery
|Image:Millennium_Point_Exterior.jpg|Millennium Point, Birmingham, UK: Half of the facade has exterior blinds
|File:L'Umbracle, L'Hemisferic & Palau de les Arts.JPG|City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia: brise soleil at the L'Hemisfèric[https://www.researchgate.net/figure/L-Hemisferic-Brise-Soleil_fig1_298748789 L " Hemisfèric – Brise Soleil | Download Scientific Diagram]{{clarify|date=May 2025}}
|Image:Milwaukee Art Museum 1 (Mulad).jpg|The movable Burke brise soleil on the Quadracci Pavilion of the Milwaukee Art Museum closes at sunset.
|Image:MESP4.jpg|Gustavo Capanema Palace in Rio de Janeiro
|Image:MESP1.JPG|Detail of north facade of Gustavo Capanema Palace
|Image:2023-0323-Harvard-Carpenter_Center_for_the_Visual_Arts-04-NW_view.jpg|The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
|Image:New_York_Times_Building_0210.JPG|The New York Times Building by Renzo Piano
|Image:Casa Curutchet 02.jpg|Curutchet House by Le Corbusier, inside view
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See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Brise soleils}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20141024073056/http://mam.org/visit/details/detail_burke.php Brise soleil at the Milwaukee Art Museum]
- [https://twopointseven.co.uk/roomzzz-aparthotel] (Brise Soleil Commercial Applications)
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061212211251/http://www.al-bab.com/bys/articles/windows.htm British-Yemini Society] Influence of climate on window design
- [https://twopointseven.co.uk/charles-wells-brewery] (demonstration of Brise Soleil in commercial applications)
- [http://www.archdaily.com/155922/ad-classics-palace-of-the-assembly-le-corbusier/ AD Classics: AD Classics: Palace of the Assembly / Le Corbusier]
- [https://www.sonnensegel.tv/hintergrund-info-zum-thema-sonnensegel Technical possibilities] (in German)
- [https://www.museum-der-alltagskultur.de/ Museum of everyday culture] (in German)
- [https://twopointseven.co.uk/brise-soleil] (Further reading on Brise Soleil from a supplier)
Category:Architectural elements