Category Archives: Construction

Glass Louvres that Complement Traditional Buildings

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In these times, in which the newspapers carry a new story on the prevalence of cancer almost daily, we are fully aware of the need to wear sunscreen, particularly in summer between the hours of 11am and 3pm. We are less aware, meanwhile of the need to screen the buildings we live in from the sun – though there is a whole variety of brise soleil specially adapted to this purpose. And, while buildings are obviously not at risk from cancer, they should be causes of concern: careful upkeep of our buildings exteriors can help keep the insides running well. Energy efficiency, for example, can be greatly improved by controlling external factors such as heat and light. A building that uses glass louvres will normally require less internal heating and use of fossil fuel. And buildings with external louvres can act simultaneously as blinds and as air vents for the intake and discharge of cool or hot air. The latter, in hot climes or seasonal temperature highs, will perform much the same function as an air conditioning system – only at a much lower long term cost.

External louvres come in many different guises and can even be custom-designed and fitted to suit individual buildings. This is because their fabricators are sympathetic towards the hugely divergent styles of architecture in existence these days, but are also knowledgeable of their common requirements when it comes to heat regulation. To give an idea of what external louvres look like, it might help to imagine a heavy slatted blind or a set of narrowly overlapping sails. Given their erection outside, these sun-shading devices are always weather resistant with little maintenance required after their installation. This might be welcome news if the façade of your building now looks shabby or is in constant need of repainting due to weather-related cracks and peels; external louvres will protect whatever lies underneath them, behaving much like defensive shields.

glass louvres are more modern in appearance: think of the Louvre of the Parisian art gallery and you’ll have a good idea of their look. Clearly, some more traditionally minded home and building owners will not desire these sorts of extensions in their midst. But, given enough space such as a courtyard or green space, these louvres can truly come into their own. Brise soleil perhaps tread a middle ground: more conspicuous than external louvres they are useful in the creation of walkways between buildings, jutting out like awnings from the wall.

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External Louvres: Design feature or function?

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When a climate is uncertain, oppressively hot or cold, or when a building is located in a polluted area such as a large city, external louvres are often used to provide ventilation and a regular circulation of fresh air. These are built from several slats placed at precise angles to ensure the best possible circulation for fresh, temperature-controlled air. Large structures, such as brise soleil, its name taken from the French (‘sunbreaker’) can also shade those around the building from either stifling sun or light precipitation. Smaller louvres control sand or dust from entering the building, as well as ambient echo. They are an extremely efficient method of reducing emissions from heating and from air conditioning, and for this reason have gained distinction as an essential feature of a ‘green building’. Air conditioning in particular is one of the most notable culprits in carbon dioxide production.

Some louvres have even more advanced and specific environmentally friendly uses. For instance, glass louvres actively and retain heat, leaving buildings cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Some are even built in conjunction with solar panels: the slats are wonderfully placed to support frail photovoltaic cells, and the glass maximizes the amount of sunlight they attract. Many famous buildings, such as Paris’ Institute du Monde Arabe, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Chandigargh city at the foot of the Himalayas, designed by the father of brise soleil, architect Le Courbusier (‘the blackbird’), use louvres to create modern and efficient buildings.

However, architects are artists, and when placing external louvres on a building, they’re not thinking only of the functionality of efficient temperature and pollution control systems. It’s the indisputable beauty of external louvres that has made them a backbone of all kinds of architecture projects, from airports or entire cities like Chandigargh, to private homes and small offices. Louvres are found everywhere in unobtrusive forms made out of steel or aluminium, and many are designed specifically not to be noticed. But on the other extreme, an attractive structure made of wooden or glass louvres combines functionality with a design .

When sitting out in the garden, approaching the pool, or simply approaching a building, a louvre structure is fantastic way of providing a cool, quiet and relaxing space while also enjoying the serenity for inhabitants, workers and guests that comes from gorgeous architecture. It’s increasingly rare to find a shaded outdoor space attached to a well-designed building that doesn’t involve an attractive brise soleil structure €“ and with louvre installation becoming cheaper and more accessible to the average homeowner, the trend is only set to become more ubiquitous.

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Brise Soleil Provides The Best Shade

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In the face of climate change, more and more people are working towards installing solar gathering systems, which can use in the sun’s rays to power heating and other electrical systems. However, energy saving can work in the opposite way as well: by blocking out the solar radiation which is a big cause of heat build-up in the home or office. The type of shading systems that Maple Sun Screening has to offer are becoming increasingly popular across the country, as more and more people enjoy the advantages of convenient shading. With the help of innovative brise soleil systems such as internal and external louvres (both glass louvres and metal louvres are used), the concentration of heat within a home can be easily reduced, removing the need for air conditioning in the hot summer months.

Brise soleil is the name for a range of shading techniques popularised by genius French architect Le Corbusier in several of his designs. Usually, these techniques involve a slatted or punctured frame used to shield a wall with a large proportion of glass. This kind of system allows a reduction in the amount of heat allowed inside the building, and thus a decrease in the air conditioning bill. Combined with glass fronting, it provides the feeling of spaciousness and air while protecting those inside from the elements. And during the wintertime, these devices can also be used to harness some of the available sun, lowering the heating bill. The optimum temperature which can be achieved with shading devices is certain to keep clients happy all year round.

Louvres are becoming very popular. This stylish French-inspired shading system uses a series of slatted pieces of glass or metal to achieve optimum control over the amount of light and heat allowed into a living or working space. These shading systems also look very elegant, and have the important secondary function of preventing water build-up and water ingress to the building. Of course, nobody likes rain water inside a building – but louvres also prevent the water damage which can speed a property’s deterioration, and severely damage its market value.

Glass louvres in particular are extremely attractive, giving a real sense of space and light to the building whether installed inside or outside – and many architects now use dramatic shading systems such as the brise soleil as an integral part of their designs. At-home shading provision like external louvres can lend a little bit of this elegant style to the most ordinary building, something sure to keep up the spirits of the inhabitant or workers.

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Brise soleil is becoming more and more typical on new builds

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When carrying out a complex construction project, one element which can have a very large effect on the final success of the building work is the choice of sunscreening. Most architects are trained to consider the problems that can occur from direct and intense sunlight falling on a building and to incorporate some form of sunscreening into their plans. There are a variety of methods which are used to screen buildings, ranging from simple aluminium curtains to provide shade from the summer sun to the patterned concrete walls popularised by Le Corbusier in the first half of the twentieth century. The architectural term for these mechanisms for providing sunscreening is a brise soleil. Often external louvre will be incorporated into the design of the sunscreen in order to allow the effect of the sunscreening to change with the seasons.

Brise soleil is a French term (the plural is brises soleils) which means ‘sun breaker’. These are most commonly found, and most necessary, on buildings where the facades are made from large amounts of glass. During the summer the rooms enclosed by these glass walls can overheat dreadfully because of the ferocious summer sun. The form of sunscreen most typically used by architects these days is a horizontal projection from the sunside façade of a new building. Often louvres are incorporated into the design which will prevent the high-angle summer sun from falling on the building, but will allow the low angle winter sun to hit the building’s façade in order to provide some passive solar heating.

Sometimes architects chose to use external contractors to design and manufacture sunscreening. Such companies can design both internal and external sunscreens and also manufacture them. Designs can vary in colour and material and the architects are able to specify certain aspects of the sunscreens’ design in their briefs, such as requesting they provide maximum privacy for users of the building.

A brise soleil or aluminium curtain is becoming an increasingly common sight on many new buildings often with external louvre giving an interesting pattern of light and dark to their outer walls. An exceptional example of this is the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (designed by Jean Nouvel) where the brise soleil has motor controlled apertures filtering and controlling the sunlight that falls on the building and breaking it up into geometric motifs. The building won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and is one of the cultural reference points of Paris. It is well worth seeing.

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Sourcing North London builders

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If you own your own house in one of the more exclusive parts of the capital, there’s a good chance you’ll want the services of a builder at some point. north london builders come in all forms, and it’s important to find the right one; Hampstead builders or Chelsea builders, for example, are likely to have very different areas of experience than those from other areas.

When you’re sourcing North London builders, it’s worth establishing that they have the relevant background; the older, larger and more expensive properties characteristic of these boroughs require a certain kind of care for their renovation, and if you want to undertake a major renovation project then it’s worth taking the time to find someone you can have confidence in. Hampstead builders and Chelsea builders will often have the approach you are looking for, since much of their work will focus on properties of that nature.

Word-of-mouth is a good way to try tracking down suitable builders, since anyone who has gone through such a project will be well placed to recommend their builder. This can be worth a great amount, as a thoughtless or unreliable builder can cause problems and stress for months. Similarly, if your friend or colleague warns you to steer clear of certain London builders with whom they have struggled, it’s worth taking the tip on board – even if their promotional material gives glowing testimonials.

Hampstead designers and buiders are likely to have extensive experience in high-profile projects, because the area encompasses some of the most expensive housing in not only the capital but the world; similarly, Chelsea ones will be used to dealing with some highly desirable properties that command six or even seven-figure prices; finding just any of the many London builders available without due care is not an option when it comes to making repairs or alterations to such a house.

If you live in the Kensington area, your property will be rubbing shoulders with some of the most prestigious shops and buildings in London, even more so those on the border with Knightsbridge. Any Chelsea builders worth their fee (which is likely to be considerable) will be aware that their stock-in-trade is worth more than most ordinary clients will earn in a lifetime; the same goes of Hampstead builders. The north london builders who deal with these kinds of projects need to be sensitive both to the characters of the houses on which they are working – ensuring that their work is discreet and in keeping with existing style – and to the requirements of the owners.

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