(or sunrises)
It's all the rage in DC these days to replace the brick or stone facade on your building with glass and steel. (I'm just talking about the 60s-era office buildings in Northwest. The tourist itinerary is safe.) They've just finished one at 18th and L, on my route between the Metro and work.
The new fronts on these buildings are sleek and, no doubt, more energy-efficient than their predecessors. However, there is a side-effect to turning a building into a giant mirror: when the sun is shining straight down the street, as it's doing these days on L Street in the early morning and late afternoon, it doubles the amount of light hitting you, right down to the forked shadows stretching from your feet. Turns out that having two suns shining makes a difference. It's hot.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Those Tatooine sunsets
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2 comments:
Why should a metal surface is an inherently better more efficient that a ceramic-face. Isn't it all about the insulation materials underneath?
I based my efficiency comment more on the modern glass than the other material. But it's really an assumption; the increased efficiency per sq ft of the modern glass could be offset by there being more of it. Of course, in at least one case, the sleek glass front was just put on outside of the old stone-with-small-windows, so it's like the building put on a mirrored jacket. (Ref Leap of Faith, Steve Martin, 1992)
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