Innovative building designs demand that manufacturers provide solutions that are just as fresh and creative.
Here are five innovative projects where Draper solar control solutions contributed to the desired aesthetic in creative ways.
Maker’s Quarter Block D
Sustainability was a top priority for the architects behind Makers Quarter Block D in San Diego’s East Village tech corridor. Various methods were designed by BNIM to make it a net zero energy building. Their innovative facade includes sliding panels and motorized Draper Venetian blinds by Warema. The blinds can be retracted into custom headboxes or fully lowered, and the slats can be set at any angle to keep direct sunlight at bay. Click here to learn more in an article in the June issue of Metropolis magazine.
Sprint Accelerator
The design of the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator in Kansas City promotes collaboration, creativity, and inspiration. This innovative space is meant to promote entrepreneurship while inspiring work-life balance. The space benefits from the use of daylighting. Shades are used to reduce glare and heat gain while providing a pleasing aesthetic that complements a modern, welcoming feel. You can read more about the project in this ArchDaily.com article.
Canadian Parliament
Any long-term renovation project comes with issues, and the recent conversion of the West Block courtyard in Ottawa to the new home of the House of Commons for the next 10 years is no exception. In this case, a hidden solution was found to one of the most glaring problems. To convert the exterior courtyard into an indoor space, architects AFGM designed a multi-layer roof structure comprising a supporting steel structure, outer glazing, an access catwalk, and an inner laylight. This plan would create an impressive space, full of light. Draper’s system of custom motorized louvers keeps direct sunlight out of the gallery. To learn how, click here for an article in SAB Magazine.
University of Chicago Lab School
The angled glass facade on the Gordon Parks Arts Hall is a work of art. Unfortunately, it also made coming up with a shading solution a bit more difficult than usual. In addition to handling glare and solar heat gain issues, the solution had to somehow stay close to the angled glazing so interior space wasn’t wasted. interiors+sources interviewed solar control solutions product manager Clint Childress, LEED®AP, about the project. You can read it here.
B-29 Doc Hangar and Education Center
Where do you keep a restored and operational B-29 Superfortress bomber from 1945? That’s the question a group of volunteers known as “Doc’s Friends” were asking when, in 2016, after years of painstaking work, a B-29 dubbed “Doc once again took to the skies. The answer was an innovative space that serves as both maintenance hangar and education center, located at Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita, Kansas. Draper provided a series of graphic shades to stretch across a long wall of windows, displaying Doc in all his airborne glory. To learn more about Doc’s story, click here.
While these projects were completely different, they all illustrate one key point: no matter the venue or the issue, Draper will work with you to provide the solution you need.
To find more stories about Draper shading solutions, click here to go to our case studies and white papers web page.
