The fragmented opening

The traditional window used to be vertically fragmented in superposed elements so as to specialize the filter of each segment. Normally the highest parts were light collectors with no protection. The intermediate parts had all kinds of filters, and sometimes also lower parts had different filters from the rest. The Canary window [075] and this monumental window in Oporto [166] are extreme examples of that fragmentation.

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Fragmented window: "Canarian filters" [075]

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Fanlight in Oporto [166]

 

 

Towards the middle of last century that fragmentation was recovered in projects such as the Eames House [573], the Maisons Jaoul [609] or the Esherick House by Louis Khan [031].

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The fragmented Eames House [573]

 

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The best Le Corbusier’s design of openings and protections [609]

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Fragmented windows in Esherick House [031]

 

 

Today, this resource is increasingly used to enhance the chances of filters, as in some Murcutt’s works [161] [022] or in different kind of intermediate spaces [566].

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Fragmented window in Riversdale, Glenn Murcutt [161]

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022

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A fragmented enclosure [566]

 

But nowadays, probably the most significant example is in the modern "integrated" light facade of office buildings. Here the segments resulting of vertical and horizontal fragmentation can locate various types of holes or accommodate different climate control systems [084] [131].

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Opaque opening + Fixed glazing = Window [084]

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Fragmented window "i-module" in Düsseldorf [131]