Screens

The screen is another fairly common architectural device. In the case of a curtain wall system that involves structural framing or structural silicone, a screen is an intrinsic part of the system. Screens often exist within the frame (another optic device) as decorative or sun shading elements. However, the screen can stand alone in warmer climates or within or outside a thermally broken element such as a window. Screens are significantly present in historical architectural work in the form of such elements as the mashrabiya, a traditional element of Arab architecture, as well as in contemporary architecture in the form of both environmentally- and mechanically-driven kinetic screen systems.

The possible variety of the architectural screens is well-established, with such parameters as its materials, unit configuration, array type, and orientation guiding and diversifying their design. The screen as an optic device, however, aims to address the qualities of light that are produced by the screen within the space whose light reception it modulates. Though screens can be designed to control the amount of light that enters a space in the interest of reducing solar gain, parameters such as the screen's thickness and proximity to the opening/light source and any secondary light sources play a significant role in shaping the simple image that is formed by the interaction of light with the edges or material of the screen.

Sample Series of parameters applied in sequence to the base optic device