Page 30 - Between light and shade

between light and shade, TRANSPARENCy and reflection

This means that an opening window should not
exceed an area of one or two square metres, or
have an excessive height in relation to its width,
in order to be usable in practice.

GLazing
Glazing must be as crystal-clear as possible, to
guarantee the same colour perception as if it
were not there or to “show colour” and become
an artistic contribution — to be seen and not for
transmitting light in order to see something else.

It is also through glazing that energy
exchanges with the outside world are the greatest,
which requires it to have the best performances
in this field. It is also glazing that is currently
one of the best media for photovoltaic cells
and enables facades 7 to be designed as energy
generators. Therefore, one of the tasks for the
coming years consists of reconciling respect for
the senses (good colour rendering, natural venti-
lation, etc.) with restrictions on energy losses,
sun protection and energy generation.

Insulation of the envelope is specifically
making a significant contribution to energy
performances, with the major temptation being
to reduce the glazed area or to increase its insu-
lating performance, even if this means reducing

7 Chiefly their opaque sections.
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