This past week we started looking at a very visually interesting brise soleil type of panel system installed in front of a more traditional masonry and glass structural wall at the exterior facade of a building.  A brise soleil can be built to be a type of curtain wall, essentially a panel system hung from a vertical purlin frame.  However, from a perspective of architectural understanding, it’s important to distinguish some of the elements in this conversation.

A brise soleil can be a type of curtain wall, but not all curtain walls are necessarily brise soleils. One of the primary differences is that normally a brise soleil can be open to allow air to pass through but still work shed water similar to a rain screen.  We touched on this distinction in this past week’s blog article, but the understanding of a curtain wall includes another distinctions. Some types of curtain walls can also work with a rain screen type principle.

In the picture below, you can see that the floors above the ground level are intentionally built protruding or standing proud of the brise soleil below.  This spatial distinction is very architecturally effective because on a subconscious level it visually separates the upper levels on the building from the ground, by allowing the vertical planar face of the upper levels of the building to be interrupted, effectively broken by the horizontal plane of plant cover below.  In a subtle, but visually discernible way, this separates the two planes and makes the upper level, to a degree, look as if it is separate from its mooring roots at the structural load path into the ground. 

One of the key benefits of typical curtain walls is their energy efficiency and or impact to reduce solar gain: the increased thermal heat of a building applied by the natural sunlight. Advanced glazing characteristics and high performance insulation materials can be integrated into the design to optimize thermal performance, reducing energy consumption for heating and cooling. The particular design that we’re looking at here today does not have glazing and the curtain wall does not create a continuous shell around the exterior of the building’s structural envelope so therefore does not actually help in the same way to trap thermal heat in the winter nor keep that warm air or temperatures in the summer. 

Like a typical brise soleil assembly though , it does however shade the building significantly which will reduce the energy load used in cooling in the summer. From a perspective of aesthetic design, this particular building facade shown here is just one of many different types of aesthetic options.

The rain screen principle, found in many different types of curtain walls, even curtain walls that are not intended to be an air barrier, will allow a curtain wall to serve as a protective shield from many types of typical precipitation. It does not, however, mean that the rain screen is necessarily windproof. In fact, many rain screen type assemblies are intended to allow air to pass relatively freely through and around the curtain wall.

A curtain wall which acts as a rain screen will allow vertical falling water to run on the outside of the curtain well, essentially guided with overlaps between parts of the panels or sealants applied at panel joints. To avoid differential pressure buildups, the majority of rain screen type assemblies have intentional areas of ventilation, which allow or should be built with the intention of allowing water pressure differentials to escape and passively move without wicking and sucking water in from the outside of the rain screen or curtain wall.

Here in the picture below, you can see an edge, at the field of the panel, from an angle. You can see the panels are relatively thin, not much more than 3/16 of an inch in thickness.

A stiffening web has been installed behind the panel and that same web element is used to connect an additional panel behind the front panel. Again with this type of construction assembly, the panel works from a privacy and shading perspective, but still allows for free and unimpeded ventilation.

In most cases, the functional seamlessness of this panel system, aside from the joint between the panels themselves, is almost perfect. As we showed in the earlier examples this past week, there are almost no fasteners exposed or at least visible from the exterior of the screen wall type facade.

The brise soleil panels are all mounted from side flange areas bent and turned toward the internal side edges.  However, when you look closely in the picture below, you can see one of the few areas where the truth comes out, you can see a thick bead of sealant applied between the rear part of the panel, at the inside or back of the photo area, and the joining purlin or gusset panel.  A bit of the mystery is revealed here because in almost all other areas, the things like screws and glues and adhesives are hidden.

The picture below shows a very similar type of view looking closely at the inner workings of this panel system. But here, looking upwards, some of the inner secrets of the mounting and connection elements of the system are concealed by the shadows, typical at most days, in most weather patterns.

Overall this brise soleil panel system is very visually effective, it shades the building from the intense sunlight and associated thermal gain. That type of shading can save thousands of dollars every year in reduced energy consumption during the summer months.  The industrial oxidized metal looks very contemporarily interesting from a visual impact perspective, and it’s a long-lasting material assembly that requires very little upkeep and maintenance.  Unlike typical masonry surfaces, these panels do not require residual repointing and tuckpointing, but that alone does not make them maintenance free.  They will still need re-applications or sealant and routine upkeep.

We can Help

Our company focuses on historic restoration more than modern building upkeep, maintenance, and construction, but our company understands both types of construction very well and a full picture well-rounded approach is needed in any niche in the construction industry. Although we focus on historic restoration, repointing, tuckpointing and historic brick repair, our company also has technical knowledge and competencies in the areas of modern and contemporary construction as well as we become one of the leaders in that area of the market today. Understanding both historic and modern or contemporary construction is useful because both aspects help understand the challenges and potential solutions for challenges in building science and construction.

We can help with a variety of historic masonry restoration needs and upkeep, from modest tuckpointing and or repointing to complicated and extensive historic masonry restoration. Infinity Design Solutions is a historic restoration specialist contractor specializing in both historic masonry restoration such as tuckpointing our repointing, and brick repair.  If you have questions about the architectural details or facade of your historic building in Washington DC, reach out and say hello and if we can help we’ll be glad to assist you.  You can email us or call us on the telephone at the following link: contact us here.