IGN:
TIMBER SHUTTERS
Photo courtesy of © lauracarducci.fr
ARTICULATED BRIS SOLEIL
Type : DESIGN / PRODUCT DESIGN
Patent : NA
Year : 2011
Status : Complete
Studio : VS-A.FR + LAURA CARDUCCI, ARCHITECT
These external timber shutters were developed for the French government to host the Headquarters of IGN and METEO-FRANCE.
The 3.8m high timber shutters had to be 800mm offset from the façade to meet safety regulations. The Client was deliberating between having a standard product with several thousands of motors (an issue of maintenance), or opting for a custom-made manually operable system (an issue of effort for the end user).
The design team convinced them by demonstrating that manually operable shutters were more sustainable than motorized ones. As a result we began development for a specific cinematic and a mechanism made of cast aluminium parts that allowed the users to physically operate them with handles located nearby the windows. The springs were used to orient the shutters in either an open or closed state.
The user-friendly ergonomics was tested with a full-scale model. In conjunction, a fast spreading rumor among the client’s employees involved the claim that the daily operation of such shutters would be good alternative to going to the gym.