Shading from the Sun
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
A row of aluminum scrims stand open on the Los Angeles street side of the Caltrans building.
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
A minute later, most of the scrims are now closed. A computer controls the pneumatic devices based on the direction of the sun.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — On Sunday afternoon I was bicycling past the Caltrans building when I heard an odd sound. Looking up, I saw a row of aluminum scrim panels that had been open start to close one by one. Though I was familiar with the building's design, I believe it's the first time I'd actually seen the panels in action.
The Caltrans building's east and west faces are covered in these aluminum scrim panels. Many are decorative, but roughly 2,000 of them open and close. They're controlled by a computer, which changes their position based on sun and temperature sensors. It's a high tech tool that was part of cutting the building's cooling costs.
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Benjamin Pezzillo on July 22, 2008, at 10:59PM – #1
If you think this is cool, you'll dig the roof of the California Academy of Sciences:
http://www.calacademy.org/
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on July 23, 2008, at 12:05AM – #2
I'm much less likely to wander by it on a bicycle ride.