Appropriation and efficiency of 'brise soleil': the case of Londrina (State of Parana)

Abstract

This article describes studies carried out on the shading devices (‘brise soleil’) used in the modern architecture from Londrina (State of Parana), assessing those elements in terms of appropriation of modern language and real efficiency. The first modern buildings in the city were analysed for their representativeness and for being designed by Vilanova Artigas and Carlos Cascaldi, pioneers in the use of this language, that has strongly influenced the architecture of the region. Based on the integration of well known tools, such as Mahoney`s tables, the proposal of the Brazilian standard for thermal comfort, and the Arquitop 3.0 Software, some results on the adequate solar protection for Londrina were obtained, enabling the comparison of the efficiency of the designed devices to be carried out. At the conclusion, considerations and comparisons in relation to the present time are made, since it is important to study the past, and learn from it, but with the eyes on the present as well as on the current problems.