A double-skin facade is a building envelope made of two layers, usually glass, separated by an air cavity that ranges from 20 centimeters to 2 meters wide. Air moving through the cavity buffers the interior from heat, cold, wind, and noise, which lowers energy use and improves occupant comfort. You...
A brise-soleil, French for sun breaker, is an exterior shading structure, usually a set of horizontal or vertical fins fixed to a facade, that blocks direct summer sun before it reaches the glass. It cuts solar heat gain and glare while still letting in daylight and the lower winter sun,...
ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) is a fluorine-based plastic foil used as a lightweight, transparent skin for roofs and facades. It is used in stadiums because it weighs roughly one percent of glass, transmits high levels of daylight onto pitch grass, spans wide distances with minimal steel, and shrugs off weather and...
