Construction

In these times, in which the newspapers carry a new story on the prevalence of cancer almost daily, we are well 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 inhabit from the sun – though there is a whole variety of brise soleil specially adapted to this purpose. And, while buildings are clearly 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 costly 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 specific 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 needs 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 placement 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 currently 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 aspect. Clearly, some more traditionally minded home and building proprietors will not desire these sorts of additions in their midst. But, given enough space such as a courtyard or green space, these louvres can really 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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Buildings that are excessively hot or cold are not only uncomfortable, they can also be a risk to the environment and dear to keep going. It is therefore essential to consider how cases of overheating, or a lack of insulation might be overcome. The erection of sunscreening devices is one of a number of remedial options. Brise soleil, for instance, stop direct sunshine from entering buildings. A super alternative to air conditioning, which can leave us dried out and thirsty, brise soleil can be cut using reflective glass that at once lessens glare and prioritizes privacy. Glass louvres offer another solution that meets the demands of green policies with style; usually erected as additions to existing buildings, they can be made using bespoke coloured glass and can even be run solely on solar power. external louvres are then a third way of making buildings more energy efficient and keeping customers and employees content on your premises.

So, if a workplace is unaired and uninviting, any one, or a blend of the above solutions might quite speedily rebalance the temperature and air quality while also saving money and supporting eco-friendly ideas. Company directors, or leaders with a part to play in the well-being of employees have a responsibility to make offices, meeting rooms and other areas both pleasant to inhabit and conducive to work. In brief, an uncomfortable professional whose mind is caught up on keeping warm or staying cool is not going to be a happy one, nor, in all probability, will his or her work be up to scratch.

Unquestionably, the atmosphere of a workplace should be prized in much the same way by a respectable company as any more conventional asset would be. Therefore, if your building needs to be cooler, look into getting a brise soleil. If you need more room but want to use space efficiently and heat economically, why not acquire a glass louvre? And if you require some extra shading from the outside, external louvres can help. Quite simply, the reputation and the image of your brand is at stake every time visitors enter your building: first impressions of the business will be dependent not just on documentation but on the happiness of the people met and the surroundings that contribute to their outlook.

Please visit http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

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As awareness of environmentally sound architecture increases and government regulations surrounding the energy efficiency of buildings become increasingly tight, many architectural features such as the brise soleil and external louvres have become commonplace, even if many people are unaware of their function. Many may assume that the aluminium curtains, glass louvres and sails which are increasingly an element of modern buildings, are just a design feature whereas their impact is far more than just decorative.

Given the popularity of programmes such as Grand Designs, the concept of passive solar heating and the use of better insulation to reduce heating costs is now fairly familiar. However, the opposite effect, passive cooling, is rarely considered, even though it is a technique which was used by the Ancient Egyptians! Less thought is also given, outside design circles at least, to maximising the use of natural light in new buildings, thus reducing electrical costs. Solutions that work with the sun to provide maximum natural lighting without glare and overheating are also still a fairly new concept.

However, the weird metal protrusions that stick out of many new buildings these days looking for all the world like an over-sized set of IKEA kitchen shelves can help with both cooling and lighting issues and many other more discreet design features, such as glass louvres, are also providing more than just a decorative function.

The term ‘brise soleil’ which, roughly translated from the French means ‘sun break’, refers in architectural circles to any permanent external structure which helps to stop the sun shining directly into a building. Some avant-garde architects have even built such a function into the main fabric of the building, such as Le Corbusier who created distinctive simply patterned concrete walls. More commonly, a structure made of a different material is used, such as steel or aluminium louvres. These can be angled to allow a building with a large glass façade to be protected from overheating during the summer when the sun is at a higher angle while maximising the intake of light and warmth from the sun during the winter months when the light comes in  from a much lower angle.

The best firms are able to create detailed analyses of either existing buildings or the plans for new projects. These map out the angle of the sun during different seasons of the year and make proposals based on these calculations for appropriate sun-shading. Maple Sunscreening, for example, is a company which regularly advises architects and engineers on how to use features such as brise soleils and glass louvres to meet standards for CO2 emissions and combines advice on internal sun-screening with suggestions for outdoor screening such as external louvres to create an overall scheme which maximises long term reductions in the final building’s energy costs.

Please visit http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.maplesunscreening.co.uk/

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