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# Glass, folded: the facade that cools itself
- URL: https://cobalt.samadesign.dev/glass-folded-the-facade-that-cools-itself/
- Published: 2026-09-19T11:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-19T11:00:00.000Z
- Description: Glass buildings are notorious for overheating. A new generation of facades is folded, angled and shaded to stay cool.
- Author: Marc Delaunay
- Tags: Design, #Import 2026-10-07 01:53

For decades, the glass tower was a promise of light and a problem of heat. Flat glass lets the sun in and traps it, and air conditioning does the rest.

The newest facades are folded. Each panel is angled to block the high summer sun and welcome the low winter light, and the geometry does work that machines used to do.

![A facade of hexagonal glass panels seen from inside](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1686691904152-449d60e2e72b?auto=format&fit=crop&w=2000&q=80)

Hundreds of panels, each angled for the sun. Photo by Bernd Dittrich / [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm%5Fsource=demo&utm%5Fmedium=referral)

The result is a building that looks more complicated and works more simply.