The sun protection system gives the main building its “face” – and is unique in the world.
As the sun shone in the meeting room, the participants automatically held a hand horizontally over their eyes to protect them from the light. This is exactly how the sun protection in Essen works: Seven-centimeter-long and two millimeter- thick stainless steel slats lie on the right and left of a vertical center axis – they are, as it were, the hand protecting one’s eyes from the sun. The axis can rotate and thus align the slats according to the position of the sun in an infinitely variable manner.
Added to that is another showstopper: In order to open the sun protection completely if required, the slats can be extended forward. This especially manufactured sun protection system forms the optical calling card of the building. The approximately 380,000 slats give the building a face that changes according to the incidence of sunlight – on sunny summer days or during storms, for example, the facade is closed completely with a luminous silvery glow, while the glass facade peeks through again on cloudy days.
