ECOSS-W
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Light Direction & Diffusion by Season
"W" is a patented (US Patent No. 5,650,875 dated Jul. 22, 1997) member of the "Ecology Sun System"(ECOSS) family of sunlight modulating products developed by Figla Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan. "W" denotes the product's main intended application- Windows.
"W" uses trapezoidal acrylic prisms in the air space to redirect light. A typical "W" application might be a transom lite designed to redirect sun and sky light up onto a ceiling for increased daylighting efficiency. The accompanying photos show just such a "W" panel in place of the new Administration Building for Hoffman LaRoche in Nutley, NJ, USA. Viewed from the inside, a "W" has a strong horizontality, vivid surface brightness, a complex translucence, surprising visual depth and some of the gridded delicacy of Shoji screens.
The prisms are extruded in lengths up to 2.4 meters using an acrylic resin (PMMA) specifically selected to resist solar degradation or discoloration. The prisms, called controllers, are then stacked horizontally and held in place by vertical acrylic holders, typically spaced between 350mm to 400mm on center. The entire "W" panels floats free in the air space to allow for expansion and contraction. Typically, the #3 glass surface is soft etched using FIGLA's TAPESTRY technique, providing directional diffusion of the light to the targeted surface. "W" panels can be designed to fit into almost any window configuration imaginable.
Given the building's latitude and the glass panel orientation, Figla uses in-house software to optimize the tilt of the prisms to put daylight where the architect wants it.