Brise soleil

Brise soleil, sometimes brise-soleil (French: [bʁiz sɔlɛj]; lit.

[1] The system allows low-level sun to enter a building in the mornings, evenings and during winter but cuts out direct light during summer.

[2] 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[3] to the elaborate wing-like mechanism devised by Santiago Calatrava for the Milwaukee Art Museum[4] or the mechanical, pattern-creating devices of the Institut du Monde Arabe by Jean Nouvel.

[5] 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.

A basic brise soleil at the Charles Wells Brewery for Wells & Co . 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.