Neil Gordon

 
In the spring of 2014, I received a phone call from an Architect inquiring about exterior shades for his new building. He explained that he was planning a sustainable corporate headquarters for his firm Aufgang Architects where his intention was to install the latest technologies such as a geo-thermal heating system. He thought exterior shades would be a great complement to his wish list of sustainable solutions.

As we continued to talk on the phone, he told me the building’s location and to both of our surprises it was only 15 minutes away. Without hesitation, I jumped into my car and was sitting in his office moments later. 

I met Ariel Aufgang that day and was impressed with his busy architectural firm. While in his office, Ari showed me the rendering of the brick façade building with black mullion windows. He explained that he wanted to provide solar heat gain protection to the southern street facing façade. Not only was he concerned for reducing the amount of solar energy entering the space he was also worried about the need for glare control due to the generous daylighting.

Building Rendering

I immediately knew the ideal solution to address Ari’s specific needs as well as how to complement the design of the building with an exterior shading solution. My recommendation was our cable-guided exterior shade from Model System Italia the FM41. This is a simple motorized gravity assist shade with a 6” round aluminum enclosure with 6mm side cables and a Serge Ferrari fabric the Soltis 86 Exterior Shade Fabric.

Model FM41

We wanted to share with you our latest writing we did in WF Vision Magazine for the March April 2015 magazine. First we wrote an article entitled “The Next Generation of Window Treatments” – it’s really a great concept and hopefully you find it equally enjoyable and informative. You can see the article below or use the following link and go to page 20-21 (or page 23-24 if you are viewing it online) 

Scotch Holland Roller Blinds’ originated in the early 1700s. They were made from Holland linen, which came from the Netherlands. The fabric was first produced in Glasgow, Scotland, by James Louis Robertson and John King, hence the name ‘Scotch Holland.’

Before being used to make roller shades, the durable Holland linen fabric was bleached, dyed and starched. It was then dried and pounded by solid wood bars. The whole production process lasted around ten days.

The first roller shade made from Scotch Holland linen did not have a spring mechanism. Instead, when the blind was closed, the fabric lay in folds on the window ledge. To open the blind, you had to pull on a cord which was attached to a top rod. To secure the open blind, you wound the cord around a cleat.

SolarBlade is a combination of our aluminum louver shutter combined with our DEKO Cassette and high performance fabric.

Daylight Harvesting

The concept of SolarBlade is to harvest the natural daylight into the room. This thenoffsets the amount of electricity needed to properly light a space which then reduces energy consumption. An ideal showcase for an Engineered Daylighting Solution. 

This sustainable concept of harvesting natural daylight is a major goal for any LEED project. However, the USGBC has recognized the draw back of such harvesting. Here is a quote from their website: “Glare control is perhaps the most common failure in Daylighting strategies. Large windows provide generous amounts of daylight. If not controlled, properly, this daylight can produce unwanted glare and affect interior lighting quality. Measures to control glare include light shelves, louvers, blinds, fins, and shades… Glare control is required for each window.”