Advertising Feature
LEGACY LOUVRE PRODUCT RESTORED FOR THE MODERN WORLD
New products generally mean new technology. Imagine then that an invention of the 1940’s could be the best choice, top perform- ing product in its field when it is re-launched, without any enhance- ments, today? A simple, engineered product made to fine tolerances, providing control and diffusion of sun, heat, light and air. Sometimes, the simplest products are the best.
What is it?
It is the world’s thinnest and light- est metal fabric, manufactured in the UK. 17 paper-thin durable bronze lou- vres are woven into every inch (25.4mm) of fabric. The louvres themselves are only two times thicker than a human hair and are angled to block all the sun’s heat, or re-direct light. For lighting direction, the standard 17º louvre angle provides an asymmetric light kick, alternatively a 0º angle of louvre provides symmetrical light beam.
Where and how did it start? It was invented in America in the late 1930’s by two senior research members of Dow Chemical and first manufactured in conjunction with the Borg-Warner Corporation. In 1941, the product was intro- duced to one of the most important 20th century architects Frank Lloyd
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Wright, who said of the material, “This is more important than even you can realise. Not just windows, but entire walls and sections of buildings could be screened and protected from the sun’s hot rays”. Now known as MicroLouvre™, this same paper-thin louvred metal fabric is unique, multi-functional and now, more than ever, a product of our time. With its passive, angle selective, maintenance free technol- ogy, MicroLouvre™ supports all today’s energy saving, fire resistant and sustainable building perfor- mance requirements and also pro- vides solutions for lighting glare, light pollution issues and lighting design.
Where has it been used before? The product, previously known as Koolshade® has been used in its various applications on a wide range of iconic buildings includ- ing the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, London’s Science Museum and Natural History Museum and the Louvre in Paris. Even the Hoover Building FBI Headquarters in Washington DC, Dallas Fort Worth Airport and Heathrow Airport have used it.
Some installations are now 50 years old and still going strong, with little to no maintenance required. Moreover, when used as window
protection it ensures the wellbeing of occupants by allowing balanced daylighting and protects them from the sun’s heat and glare, whilst still providing unobstructed vision to the outside.
Where has it been in recent years?
Manufacturing was for many years based in Puerto Rico where it benefitted from US grants and tax incentives. Ironically then, it was the factory’s location that brought about the demise of the product. The factory was destroyed in 1989 by the North Caribbean’s strongest hurricane in a decade and although re-built, production was affected by months of power outages and supply chain problems and never recovered. Finally, the surviv- ing, totally unique, wire weaving machinery was relocated to Texas but the business never fully recov- ered and production all but ceased by the start of the 21st century. Andrew Cooper, the now owner of Smartlouvre Technology Lim- ited first ‘discovered’ the product, almost unknown outside America, in the 1980’s. He became Kool- shade®’s top distributor for the product in the UK and Middle East, but had to focus on other products with the ongoing supply problems of Koolshade® and the eventual ceasing of production.
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