Solar Shade: Preparation for the Collage of Sustainability

In preparation for the Collage of Sustainability (the largest event to take place at the HUG campus), our team has had to make some changes to the atrium. With 150 visitors expected to participate, the atrium was designated the only place large enough hold all of them.

The atrium was initially designed to be a greenhouse, and with the south facing wall made up entirely of heat absorbing windows, it would become too hot for participants to bear. So, a solution was needed before the event began.


We decided that hanging a large piece of black cloth across the south facing windows was the solution we needed. (Some people call this contraption a "curtain.") However, it was decided, that this curtain needed to be done in style.


So, Wayne designed a little motor that would run up and down the metal posts set aside at each end of the cloth. This little motor would roll up the cloth and let more light in. If it gets too hot, the little motor runs down the metal posts and takes the black cloth down with it, creating more shade and blocking out the sunlight.

Here, you can see the little guy working.

Looking out from the inside, you can tell the difference the cloth makes.