CloseWhere Space Meets a Story!
Facade of Umbrellas is an interactive, dynamic shading system inspired by the everyday intelligence of an umbrella—protective, flexible, and individually responsive. Using a field of PTFE “micro-umbrellas” across a seven-story office building, the façade becomes a parametric instrument that tunes daylight, glare, ventilation, and energy use in real time.
Architecture is often expected to protect us—yet most façades stay still while the world keeps changing. This project begins with a simple, human reference: the personal umbrella, a small device that reacts instantly to weather and comfort—opening to shield, closing to reveal, moving with the body. Facade of Umbrellas translates that intimate act into an architectural scale, turning the building envelope into a responsive layer that can shift with the sun, seasons, and the needs of its users.
The system is built from lightweight units: flexible PTFE sheets stretched on slender metal arms, engineered to open and close using an umbrella-like mechanism. Four primary metal sticks connect to secondary supports that push and pull the structure—allowing each unit to operate individually or as part of a coordinated façade choreography. When assembled together, the units form a textured, parametric pattern—an urban tapestry that is never fixed, always adjustable.
Applied to a seven-story office building in Lausanne, the façade becomes more than a visual signature—it becomes a performance tool. Open-plan workspaces are flooded with soft daylight, while direct glare is filtered where needed; natural ventilation can be encouraged, and energy demand reduced through precise control of solar gain. The result is a building that doesn’t just “look” dynamic—it behaves dynamically, aligning comfort, efficiency, and identity in one expressive skin—where space meets a story of climate, craft, and everyday ingenuity.