World's first air-powered shading system. 

Airshade is a high performance and intelligent sustainable shading system that works on physical principles (air expansion). It tends to improve buildings and help the environment by understanding and looking at it, replacing complex structures with simple natural processes. Cooling is one of the most energy consuming processes in buildings, while also having a great environmental impact on a variety of fields. The way cooling and shading systems are constructed is often very problematic in terms of sustainability and living quality. Shading systems represent the skin of buildings, regulating the thermal conditions inside of them. This fact is often underestimated and compensated by thick walls and great amounts of insulation. ​We have developed and patented a responsive shading system, made out of sustainable materials, that follows the idea of thermo-sensitivity to solar exposure. 

Award-winning, patented technology. 

Airshade’s mechanism is integrated into the system itself, requiring no cables or motors, using only air that expands with solar radiation for its operation. It is able to respond to the environment, harmonising its process with nature and replacing conventional, complex and energy-consuming structures. Airshade consists out of multiple shutter units, with the air container exposed to the sun. When exposed to solar radiation the air expands its volume and actuates a pneumatic cylinder that opens the shutters. Once opened, the shutters prevent the sun from coming inside a building. ​This technology has been granted a patent EP2933427B1, ​WO2015158709A1

No sensors, no motors, just physics. 

As time passes and the solar radiation reduces, the air cools down, creating under-pressure and the shutters close. It hardly needs any maintenance, as it is entirely self-sustaining. Because of its ability to interact with the sun, it responds locally to objects such as buildings, vegetation and clouds. This makes it possible for the shading system to remain open in some places on the building where there is no direct sunlight. Herby, the comfort of the user is improved in comparison to conventional shading as well as thermal regulation of the building. The shutters are slightly moved from the façade to act as a rear-ventilated façade, eliminating heat behind the shutters. This system can also be applied to forms of “conventional” systems and shutters that can be modified with the Airshade mechanism. 

​