The brise-soleil as a formal and functional component in the architecture of the Modern Movement

The invention of reinforced concrete in the second half of the XIX century brought about a real revolution in buildings design and construction. Thanks to this new construction technique, the first skyscrapers were built at the beginning of the last century, and within a few years large urban agglomerations sprang up. The invention of reinforced concrete thus marks the beginning of the dramatic conflict between construction and environmental protection, which has led to the dramatic effects of climate change, pollution and depletion of natural resources. The use of this material also allowed the birth and spread of the Modern Movement, which has left us with an enormous architectural heritage spread on a global scale. The value of the architecture of the Modern Movement is not always recognized as it should be, probably because it belongs to a too recent past. The article highlights the attention paid to the search for passive systems to control comfort conditions inside buildings by the architects of the Modern Movement, who anticipated and addressed the issue of energy saving and sustainable building.