Wilder Building, The Dance Institute, Montreal, Canada

Project: The Dance Institute
Location: Montreal, Canada

Creative places demand creative solutions. Our brief was to maximise natural daylight inside Montreal’s famous Dance Institute – a place where natural daylight was sometimes at a premium. Large spaces also demand warming up so with light and heat front of mind, we had an ideal solution.

By applying Solera, the entire space benefits from the correct amount of natural daylight, plus the thermal performance of the building is greatly improved. By diffusing equal amounts of light in all directions (almost 180 degrees), a diffused and comfortable spectrum of light can be achieved. This means sun blinds are no longer necessary, and savings can be made on the use of artificial light.

By combining clear glass with Solera glass with a screen-printed pattern, a unique effect has been created and various spaces are provided with both natural and diffused light. Seen from the outside, a constant change in colours and dimensions takes place depending on where the light hits. In a number of spaces artificial light is not used at all so by applying Solera, not only does natural daylight come in, but the thermal performance of the building has also been greatly improved.