How to get sun in a shady courtyard? Béatrice and Romain in Lisbon

Read about Béatrice and Romain in Lisbon

- Project: Shading an interior courtyard

- Location : Lisbon (Portugal)

- Client : Béatrice and Romain

- Espaciel model installed : Solar Patio Reflector

View of an interior courtyard with Patio Solaire Espaciel reflectors capturing and redirecting sunlight downwards — View towards the sky of an interior courtyard, showing the Patio Solaire Espaciel reflectors installed high up, capturing and redirecting sunlight downwards to illuminate this shaded space in the heart of a building.

The article tells the story of how Béatrice and Romain, residents of a block of flats in Lisbon, succeeded in transforming a shady inner courtyard into a sunny garden thanks to Espaciel reflectors.

Their main challenge was the lack of light, as the courtyard was surrounded by the six storeys of the building, which kept it in the shade despite the abundant sunshine in Lisbon.

Buildings in Lisbon are often designed around interior courtyards to provide light and ventilation. However, because of the height of the buildings, the natural light is diffused and loses intensity as you go down the floors. On the ground floor, there is too little light for the courtyard to be planted. Despite this problem, Béatrice and Romain wanted to make the courtyard an integral part of their renovation project, by creating an urban garden accessible from their dining room and kitchen.

While looking for solutions, Béatrice discovered Espaciel and initially installed two wall-mounted reflectors to maximise diffused light. But this wasn't enough to bring the sun down into the courtyard. Espaciel proposed a more advanced solution with the Réflecteur Patio Solaire, a device designed to capture the sun's rays and redirect them to spaces that are difficult to access with direct light, such as their inner courtyard.

Following a sunshine survey carried out by Espaciel, five Solar Patio Reflectors were installed above the roof, oriented at different angles to maximise exposure to the sun for several hours each day. The installation, carried out by a local professional, radically transformed the courtyard, which was transformed from shadow to light, allowing the creation of a flower-filled urban garden.

The results are impressive: the courtyard is now bathed in light for several hours a day, improving not only the ambience of the courtyard but also the natural lighting in Béatrice and Romain's flat, where the sun's rays reflect back inside, creating a brighter, more pleasant space.

Read the full article on the Espaciel blog

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