Page 59 - Between light and shade
P. 59
Light, transparency and reflection
la Culture de la Province de Namur 53 [01/628,
Fig. 55 and 56].
The new facades, in extra clear glass with
a U value = 1.1 W/m² °K and oak frames, are
protected from the sun and rain by overhanging
sills and white Z-shaped lacquered steel louvre
slats, creating numerous lines of shade that
punctuate the facade.
the mashrabiya
Like a mashrabiya, an envelope must sometimes
filter light and the view where the latter wishes
to be discrete or suggestive. This is true for both
the external patchwork facade of old recycled oak
frames and the glass facade of the “lantern” at
the headquarters of the Council of the European
Union 54 [01/494, Fig. 57 and 58].
The patchwork of old oak frames acts as a
lampshade for the “lantern”. It literally “disap-
pears” at dusk when the latter is illuminated 55.
53 This building by Victor Bourgeois (1897-1962), which was
completed in 1964, has bronze and reflective glass curtain
walled sections of its facade. Elegant and popular at the time,
they are in a poor condition and their energy performance is
weak.
54 Jean Attali and Philippe Samyn, EUROPA. European Council
and Council of the European Union, Brussels-Tielt, CIVA and
Lannoo, 2013 (see e-book at www.samynandpartners.com).
55 “Les vertus du patchwork et la facade du Conseil de l’Union
Européenne” (“The virtues of patchwork and the facade of the
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