West facing facades

The challenge that a facade oriented to the West needs to meet is way higher than any other. The solar radiations the faces of these buildings are exposed to are so severe that architectural design manuals recommend to present a blind façade to the west and to open windows to any other available orientation.

Some architects take this advice in consideration but still want to open windows to the West, so their buildings feature heavy shields in front of these openings, like these external louvers and persian blinds. More generous glassed windows are opened to the sides that do not face the West.