Thursday, May 14, 2009

Moucharabiehs control light at AWI


ARAB WORLD INSTITUTE, Paris, France. Completed in 1987, this building became a major architectural and urban tourists' attraction in the French capital. Jean Nouvel made the South wall resembling Arabic moucharabieh or mashrabiya (window with enclosed wooden latticework). Besides aesthetic function, these lenses also bear a load of energy saving. I failed to find exact figures, but presuming that less light -- less heat -- less airconditionning, would spare fortunes. I will add figures to the post as soon as I find them.

To illustrate traditional moucharabieh, we took a picture of a mosque in St. Petersburg, Russia.


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