Wide panes of glass pull daylight deep into the house, but on the south side they also drew in too much heat. In the upper floor room used for sports classes, the morning sun made the space warm very quickly. The stair hall had the same issue. What first looked like a simple question of glare turned into a pattern that showed up across several rooms, especially where the large windows met direct sun.

When the sun reached the glass, the room heated up fast

The owners had lived with the problem for years before looking for a new solution. In spring, opening a window helped for a while, but that was not enough once the glass started taking full sun. They had already considered different ways to deal with the heat: sun-control glass, a reflective indoor curtain, solar film on the panes, and even a terrace roof with adjustable slats for the kitchen opening. Each option solved one part of the issue and created another. Some kept the heat in too late. Others reduced winter warmth. The slatted roof would have taken too much light away.

That search explains why outdoor shading for large windows came back into the picture. The challenge was not only technical. It was also visual. The house has slim window profiles and a very clean window line, so anything added to the opening had to stay restrained. A standard screen system would have projected in front of the glass and changed the reading of the opening. Here, the screen had to work with the architecture instead of sitting on top of it.

A wind-resistant screen that stays close to the opening

The chosen solution is a wind-resistant screen with slimmer side guides and more discreet cassettes. Those details matter because they keep the system close to the frame and reduce the visual weight at the window head. On the exterior, the dark shading element sits against the white rendered surface without taking over the composition. The line above the glazing remains readable, and the window still looks like part of the same design language rather than a separate add-on.

The owners were especially persuaded by the way the guides align with the width of the window profiles. That parallel between the screen and the frame keeps the opening calm, even when the fabric is lowered. Between the two large openings on the ground floor and upper level, an aluminium plate in the same colour and plane as the lower cassette helps the transition disappear further. It is a small move, but it changes how the whole opening is read from outside.

Integrated shading without breaking the window line

Seen in profile, the system reads as integrated shading rather than a separate technical layer. The cassette is subtle, the rails are thin, and the fabric sits where it can do its job without crowding the glass. That is important in a house where the window proportions already carry much of the facade rhythm. The result is not a decorative gesture. It is a precise insertion at the point where sun, glass and frame meet.

Inside, the difference is felt where the light hits hardest

From the upper floor to the stair hall, the effect is practical before it is visual. When the sun reaches the glass now, the shading can be lowered and the room stays usable for longer. The sports room no longer overheats as quickly, even when the morning sun is low. In spring, the screens are sometimes raised again to let the light and a bit of extra warmth back in. That flexibility is part of the appeal: the screen can be opened or closed depending on the hour, the season and the direction of the sun.

One of the clearest moments comes at the large sliding door. Inside, the view runs across the floor to the terrace and the garden beyond. The glazing keeps that connection open, while the exterior screen can temper the heat without closing off the outlook. Even when it is down, transparency remains part of the experience. That is what keeps the space light, rather than turning it into a shaded room in the heavy sense of the word.

A large sliding door that still looks open to the terrace

The project also shows why shading for sliding door openings needs a different approach from smaller windows. The opening is wide, the sightline is long, and the threshold detail matters. In the images, the dark lower edge, the slim profiles and the reflection in the glass all sit close together. That makes the connection to the terrace readable without letting the sun dominate the interior. The screen is there when needed, but the glass still does the visual work of opening the room outward.

By the time the hottest days arrived, the owners had a clear reference point. They measured 26 degrees inside while it was 33 degrees outside. They were not looking for a technical statement, only a way to keep the rooms workable when direct sun hit the south-facing windows. The solution they chose does that while leaving the white render, dark frames and large panes visually intact. The house still reads as a composition of glass and plaster, just with the heat filtered before it reaches the rooms.

Details that keep the screen almost secondary

Close up, the materials are restrained: aluminium, glass, fabric and render. The finish of the cassette, the slim vertical rails and the clean junctions around the openings are what make the system convincing. Nothing is overstated. Even the transition between the two levels has been handled so the lower box does not draw too much attention. That restraint is what allows the outdoor shading for large windows to sit within the architecture rather than interrupt it.

The project started with overheating, but it ends with a clearer reading of the openings themselves. Sun-control glass, indoor curtains, film and a roof with slats were all considered and rejected for different reasons. The final answer is simpler in appearance and more precise in use: a wind-resistant screen that manages direct sun on large south-facing windows while preserving daylight, views and the clean line of the facade.