“Cool” awning

The headquarters of a downtown St. Louis-based graphic design firm was transformed from a bland storefront to a functional and stylish façade with the design of a distinctive, oversized awning. The 6m-by-4.6m, two-story glass, single-glazed curtain wall faced squarely west—directly into the harsh glare of the afternoon sun; the cost-prohibitive replacement with a double-glazed curtain wall was skillfully sidestepped by the provision of an exterior shade mesh device to help with solar heat control. In addition to mitigating the heat gain problem, the open mesh of the screen is transparent enough to see through, and the design proved to be a permanent architectural solution that offered a graphic identity for the client.