(S21) AR2608 - HH2: Tectonics
the gap between public and private in his book Une Maison – Un
Mill Owners’ Association Building
Le Corbusier
1954
Ahmedabad
Simran Mashruwala | UG191338
Brise Soleil: Beyond Solar Shading
Devices
The Datum of Mill Owners’ Association Building
Keywords: Brise Soleils, Climatic Performance, Com-
positional Element, Contextual Engagement, Struc-
tural Detachment, Lightness
Introduction
By the beginning of the 1930s, the traces of Corbusier’s trajectory of
work suggest a significant towards a climactic approach. As technological
advancements started evolving the modern lifestyle, Corbusier’s
approach towards architecture itself started looking at it more from
the perspective of a machine, which would effortlessly functional and
efficient. Brise Soleil, an invention of his that occurred at the core of
this ideology, was a result of Corbusier’s frequent encounter with sites
situated in a harsh solar context. His affinity towards a technocratic
perspective led to a static mechanism, posing as a techno-cultural
device, which had the merit to mediate across various climates and
provide the desired kind of sunlight throughout the entire year.
Ahmedabad Textile Mills’ Association (ATMA), was formed as a body
for the preservation of interests of the employers of the then chiefly
flourishing textile industry of Ahmedabad. Corbusier was invited by the
city’s elite to visit Ahmedabad in 1951, during his first stay in India,
while involved in the planning of Chandigarh and was commissioned to
design four projects: Sanskar Kendra, Villa Sarabhai, Villa Shodhan, and
the Mill Owners’ Association Building (Prasad, 2019). This is the work
that defined the architectural cityscape of Ahmedabad, which in the
future drew Kahn, Correa, and Doshi to enhance it with other iconic
works.
“The building is a physical manifesto representing Le Corbusier’s proposal
for a modern Indian architecture.” (Jones, 2014) An indistinguishable
model of Promenade Planning in the City, the building, completed in 1954,
observed the crystallization of each element that plays a role in creating
its experience, whether structural, climatic, or contextual. (Jones, 2014)
Corbusier intended for cohesive quality while designing the Mill
Owners’ Association Building. It was designed to be a place to
intertwine the public and private aspects for routine users, as well as
There was a supreme concern about the climatic considerations of
Palais (1928), a few years post the construction of Villa Cook in Paris. architecture— found not only under the oeuvre of Le Corbusier’s shift
in the 1930s, but also to the direction modern architecture confirmed
The building, one of the pioneers of Modern Architecture in the city, into in the ensuing decades. (Barber, 2016) By accenting the place of
introduced an aspect of lightness to the architecture of the city. The climate within the historiography of autoimmune disorder Corbusier’s
building exhibits an R.C.C. Frame Structure, with columns functioning as flip, we can conjointly indicate that climate-based style methodologies,
the primary supports. On the edges and at places in the free plan where addressed to issues of shading, ventilation, and interior comfort, square
the need for an enclosure emerges, there is an introduction of Shear measure a very important and under-recognized facet of the reception
Walls, which act as supports along with the columns. The building displays of recent design as a social project. The Marseilles Unité, the Palace
a detachment between its constituent elements, the gaps between the of Assembly at Chandigarh, Ministry of Health and Education in Rio
load-bearing walls and the ceiling, as well as the gap between the facade de Janeiro are among other instances of Corbusier’s pertinent effort
of brise soleil and the interior structure itself. The structural expression to incorporate brise soleil as a technocultural device in architecture.
which generates an autonomy to these elements further extends the idea
of Lightness. The East and West Facades that constitute the brise soleil,
form the skin of the building, which provides various facets of dialogues
to inside vis-a-vis outside.
R.C.C. INVERTED BEAMS
R.C.C. TIE BEAM
R.C.C. CURVED CEILING
BRISE SOLEIL
R.C.C. SECONDARY SHEAR
WALLS
WOOD PANELLED CURVED
BRICK CEILING
R.C.C. PRIMARY SHEAR WALLS
R.C.C. FLOOR SLAB
R.C.C. COLUMNS
UNPLASTERED BRICK FACADES
Fig 1: Structural System of the Buildings showing: R.C.C. STAIRCASE
Red: Primary Shear Walls; Blue: Secondary Shear Walls; Yellow: Columns
Source: Author’s Collection R.C.C. CEREMONIAL RAMP
Brise Soleil
Brise Soleil, derived from the french word meaning sun breaker, is an
architectural feature that helps in the reduction of a building’s heat 50 100 200 400 800CM
gain, through the deflection of sunlight, as mentioned in (Mohanram,
2019). Brise soleil, an ingenious invention of Corbusier, used Fig 2: Exploded Isometric View of Mill Owners’ Association Building
collectively to form a grid, is a system that involves utilizing the lower Source: Author’s Collection
The entrance to the building takes place through the ceremonial ramp
that connects directly to the first floor of the building. The brise soleil
form the East and West Facades of the building, which while providing
a porous enclosure, also poses a threshold to the interior structure. The
front facade, facing the West, creates a grid setting through the brise
soleil, unifying the structure at its exterior.
Fig 3: Entrance to the Building showing the Ramp, Staircase, and Front Facade
Source: Limited, A. (2021). The Millowners Association Building, Ahmedabad, Le Cor-
busier.
Climatic Performance
The brise soleil on the west and east facades have been positioned
exactly in keeping with Ahmedabad’s latitude, whereas the south and
north façades consist of a limited number of fenestrations. Foreign to
the hot and dry climate of Ahmedabad, Corbusier designed this device
to beat this challenge and utilize the Sabarmati breeze, that traverses
throughout the East-West axis. The Sun, therein sense, is taken into
account the sole kinetic object within the system, occupying no same
position for three hundred and sixty-five days.
The device is designed so as the Sun never touches the interior
in the summer, between the two equinoxes, while in the cold
winters, the Sun is allowed to reach inside to provide warmth.
On the West facade, the brise-soleil has been rotated at an angle of
45°. This obstructs the harsh sunlight of West from directly entering
the building and preventing human intervention and clutter to enter
through the front facade. This angle also prevents dry wind and
pollutant air of the busy Ashram road from entering the building.
Planters and Creepers spill out from the transparent facade, cooling
the winds traveling from the outside.
Fig 4: Shadows on the West Facade at 12:30 p.m. in January; April; July; Au-
gust.
Source: Gajera, S., Li, Y., Orpinel, D., Radwan, S., Rampuria, N. (n.d.). Mill Owners Asso-
ciation Building.
The east facade, however, has an orthogonal projection, i. e. the brise
soleil is oriented at a 90 degree angle, which aids ventilation through the
utilization of the Sabarmati breeze. These cool winds traverse across the
entire building, through the East-West axis. The East light characterized
by a soft quality, is granted to reach the interior rather affluently.
One of the more prominent features of the facades is the quality of
chiaroscuro it produces at different times of the year. In that respect,
it also becomes a device to intuitively hint at the time of the day for its
routine users. The robust shadows produced, highlight through contrast,
the slenderness of the slabs and the secondary shear walls used to create
the facade, hinting at the lightness of the structure. Come upon a closer
introspection of the same, the use of Broom finished Concrete helps with
preventing the reflection of light and scattering it efficiently, along with
providing it a subtle tactility. Experientially from the Interior, the outside
becomes a light well, with boxes posing as sources of light. The orientation
of these brise soleil at 45 degrees, accentuates the awareness of the light
traversing from the West to the East facade during hours after noon.
Fig 5: Light incident on the brise soleil, emphasizing the tactility of broom
finish concrete.
Source: Emdem, C. (2017, April 4). Le Corbusier. Mill Owners’ Association Building.
Compositional Element
The brise-soleils form an undeniably strong compositional element
of the building. Serving as a Datum, unifying the Front and Rear
facades of the building, it also aggregates the building’s exterior with
its interior. From the exterior front, the grid of brise soleils provides
a division of volumes, along with aligning with the floor slabs, there
are secondary horizontal planar elements, with the same thickness
as the columns, 22 cm, which provides a further division. This grid,
unifying the exterior facade, with the use of proportions taken from
the golden ratio. However, the rectilinear plan and grid expressed on
the building’s exterior stand in contrast to the interior spaces, which
are characterized by convex volumes and organic walls in the plan.
Exceptionally, even in the plan, there is a strong sense of pull generated
between these two facades, which provides a sense of direction, from
one towards the other, because of the traversing light. The entire
building is invested in this sense of gravity between the two brise soleils.
With two strenuous sites present on both sides of the building, the
contextual relationship of the building extends the larger intent of
the facade, maintaining an inside-out relationship. The transparency
of this facade is something that is key to not just the elevation,
but the entire project. While the porosity plays a crucial role in
smoothening the shift between the outside and the inside, the light
ray entering from either side, aggregates the two facades, presenting
the users with a sense of direction, and immediately creating an
enclosure as you enter, however seamless the transition might be.
The individual grids frame picturesque spectacles of cloth washers
indulged in washing and drying clothes, and farmers feeding cows,
goats and the like. Such a panorama was an invitation to Corbusier to
frame views.
Fig 6: Brise Soleil framing views to the outside.
Source: Emdem, C. (2017, April 4). Le Corbusier. Mill Owners’ Association Building.
 The structural shift alone gives the facade an autonomy that speaks of the
lightness of the structure. This detachment and the slender ratio of a 22cm
thick shear wall to a 220 cm width of the brise soleil further articulates the
idea of a floating facade. The entire facade is cast in Reinforced Concrete.
The load transfer is simple, a normal two-way slab system where the slab
transfers its load to the beams, which further transfer their load to the
columns and shear walls. The same system follows for the facade as well.
Perhaps the only connection the facade on the east and the west makes
to the building’s internal structure is through a connection to the two-
way slab of the roof. The facade consists of upturned beams where it
aligns with the floor slabs of the internal structure, along the horizontal
grid. The upturned beams hold the soil for planters that spill out of the
facade.
Fig 7: The front facade, as seen frm the approach.
Source: U. (2012, November 26). Mill owners’ Association Building. West Façade.
Conclusion
Brise Soleils, to the current date, remains to be one of the most awe-
producing discoveries ever made in architecture. Mill Owners’ further
articulates it through the lightness and structural detachment, that
intended to provide Ahmedabad a fresh approach, which goes further
beyond using it as a mere solar shading device. As mentioned in
(Mackenzie, 1993), “Clive Entwistle, the British architect, who translated
several of Le Corbusier’s books, once wrote to him in August 1946: ‘I
take this opportunity on behalf of young people here to thank you for
your latest gift to architecture: the brise-soleil, a splendid element, the
key to infinite combinations. Now architecture is ready to take its place
in life. You have given it a skeleton (independent structure), its vital
organs (the communal services of a building), a fresh shining skin (the
piloti). And now you have given it magnificent clothes, adaptable to all
climates! You must be a little proud!’ (Oeuvre Complete. Vol.IV. p113).”

Structural Detachment
The building, a Frame Structure, articulates a 4cm gap between
the internal frame and the skeletal brise soleil facade. A stand-
alone component, Corbusier designed the facade to have a
dichotomy with the interior of the building, even structurally.
450mm x 300mm R.C.C.
Inverted Beams

450mm x 450mm R.C.C.

Tie Beam

220mm thk R.C.C. Secondary

Shearing Walls

220 mm thk Upturned Beams Fig 9: Sectional Perspective showing different elements of the Brise Soleil
220mm thk R.C.C. Slab facade
Source:Gajera, S., Li, Y., Orpinel, D., Radwan, S., Rampuria, N. (n.d.). Mill Owners Asso-
150mm thk R.C.C. Slab ciation Building.
450mm x 450mm R.C.C.
Beams

450mm thk R.C.C. primary

Shear Walls

Fig 10: Image emphasizing a 4cm gap between the facade and the internal
Fig 8: Wall Section of the Junction of Brise soleil facade with the Internal Struc- structure.
ture Source: Jones, R. (2014, January 07). AD classics: Mill owners’ Association building / Le
Source: Author’s Collection Corbusier.
Reference List
Barber, D. (2016). Le Corbusier, The Brise-Soleil, and the socio-climatic
project of modern architecture, 1929-1963. Retrieved March 28,
2021, from https://www.academia.edu/10112316/Le_Corbusier_
The_Brise_Soleil_and_the_Socio_Climatic_Project_of_Modern_
Architecture_1929_1963.
Emdem, C. (2017, April 4). Le Corbusier. Mill Owners’ Association
Building. Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://divisare.com/
projects/373468-le-corbusier-cemal-emden-mill-owners-association.
Gajera, S., Li, Y., Orpinel, D., Radwan, S., Rampuria, N. (n.d.). Mill
Owners Association Building. Retrieved from http://faculty.arch.tamu.
edu/anichols/courses/applied-architectural-structures/projects-631/
Files/Mill%20Owners%20Association_Presentation.pdf.
Jones, R. (2014, January 07). AD classics: Mill owners’ Association
building / Le Corbusier. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.
archdaily.com/464142/ad-classics-mill-owners-association-building-
le-corbusier.
Limited, A. (2021). The Millowners Association Building, Ahmedabad,
Le Corbusier. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.alamy.com/
stock-photo-the-millowners-association-building-ahmedabad-india-
le-corbusier-27591241.html.
Mackenzie, C. (1993, February 17). Le Corbusier in the Sun. Retrieved
March 28, 2021, from https://www.architectural-review.com/archive/
le-corbusier-in-the-sun.
Mohanram, A. (2019, February 01). How sunshades work. Retrieved
March 28, 2021, from https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/
homes-and-gardens/why-sunshades-are-important/article26149732.
ece.
Nouveau, E. (1970, January 01). Le Corbusier Mostrar todas las
entradas. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://afasiaarchzine.com/
tag/le-corbusier/page/2/.
Prasad, A. (2019, November 29). What Le Corbusier designed For
Ahmedabad’s mill owners. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://
www.joinpaperplanes.com/design-and-living/le-corbusier-designed-
ahmedabad-mill-owners/.
U. (2012, November 26). Mill owners’ Association Building. West
Façade. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://quod.lib.umich.edu/u/
ummu2ic/x-ls017017/ls017017.
List of Figures
Fig 1: Structural System of the Buildings showing:
Red: Primary Shear Walls; Blue: Secondary Shear Walls; Yellow: Columns
Source: Author’s Collection
Fig 2: Exploded Isometric View of Mill Owners’ Association Building
Source: Author’s Collection
Fig 3: Entrance to the Building showing the Ramp, Staircase, and Front Facade
Source: Limited, A. (2021). The Millowners Association Building, Ahmedabad, Le Cor-
busier. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-the-mil-
lowners-association-building-ahmedabad-india-le-corbusier-27591241.html.
Fig 4: Shadows on the West Facade at 12:30 p.m. in January; April; July; Au-
gust.
Source: Gajera, S., Li, Y., Orpinel, D., Radwan, S., Rampuria, N. (n.d.). Mill Owners
Association Building. Retrieved from http://faculty.arch.tamu.edu/anichols/courses/ap-
plied-architectural-structures/projects-631/Files/Mill%20Owners%20Association_Pre-
sentation.pdf.
Fig 5: Light incident on the brise soleil, emphasizing the tactility of broom
finish concrete.
Source: Emdem, C. (2017, April 4). Le Corbusier. Mill Owners’ Association Building.
Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://divisare.com/projects/373468-le-corbusier-ce-
mal-emden-mill-owners-association.
Fig 6: Brise Soleil framing views to the outside.
Source: Emdem, C. (2017, April 4). Le Corbusier. Mill Owners’ Association Building.
Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://divisare.com/projects/373468-le-corbusier-ce-
mal-emden-mill-owners-association.
Fig 7: The front facade, as seen frm the approach.
Source: U. (2012, November 26). Mill owners’ Association Building. West Façade.
Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://quod.lib.umich.edu/u/ummu2ic/x-ls017017/
ls017017.
U. (2012, November 26). Mill owners’ Association Building. West Façade. Retrieved
March 28, 2021, from https://quod.lib.umich.edu/u/ummu2ic/x-ls017017/ls017017.
Fig 8: Wall Section of the Junction of Brise soleil facade with the Internal Struc-
ture
Source: Author’s Collection
Fig 9: Sectional Perspective showing different elements of the Brise Soleil
facade
Source:Gajera, S., Li, Y., Orpinel, D., Radwan, S., Rampuria, N. (n.d.). Mill Owners
Association Building. Retrieved from http://faculty.arch.tamu.edu/anichols/courses/ap-
plied-architectural-structures/projects-631/Files/Mill%20Owners%20Association_Pre-
sentation.pdf.
Fig 10: Image emphasizing a 4cm gap between the facade and the internal
structure.
Source: Jones, R. (2014, January 07). AD classics: Mill owners’ Association building /
Le Corbusier. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.archdaily.com/464142/
ad-classics-mill-owners-association-building-le-corbusier.