Solar shading is a work of art in Sunderland
The practicalities of solar shading have been turned into an artistic masterpiece at Sunderland’s award-winning commercial development, thePlace — a £130 million regeneration of the town’s Sunniside area.
Designed by architects Reid Jubb Brown, thePlace integrates six Grade II listed Georgian terrace buildings linked to a new building. It is instantly recognisable by its eye-catching facade with two banks of 43 screen-printed, rotatable glass louvres. Made and installed by Levolux and stylised by local artist Kathryn Hodgkinson, each louvre is 420 mm wide and 2.1 m high. The effect when they are closed is a translucent mural. Lights in the cills backlight the mural at night.
The louvres are rotated automatically to open and close in response to the position of the Sun. This feature can be manually over-ridden and is linked to a BMS.
