As with many western European countries, Belgium has to contend with major changes in the age structure of its population. In 2004, the 60-plus age group was 21.9% of the total population; this is predicted to rise to 30.6% by 2030. The growing elderly population is giving architects a constant stream of opportunities for creating modern, comfortable environments for extended-care and assisted-living facilities. A new Heiveld retirement center near Ghent, Belgium, provides an interesting example.

A low-rise complex of two-story buildings, Heiveld houses about 240 residents, managed by OCMW, a locally run social assistance organization. Residential areas are linked together via corridors that also connect with communal areas such as a meeting center, cafeteria, service and administration facilities, and accommodation for the center's employees.

To provide daylighting and attractive views for residents, the initial design specified relatively large areas of glazing on the sun-facing façades. Soon after the facility opened, however, residents and staff began experiencing overheating and glare issues. Belgium enjoys moderate average temperatures of around 52° Fahrenheit (11.2° Centigrade) and about 1,392 hours of sunshine per year.

In response, OCMW architect and engineer Jean Marie Vanheste was asked to find a retrofitted solution that could help manage interior temperatures and filter direct sunlight. Since residents are largely sedentary, it was vital that their external views to the surrounding landscape were maintained. The architect wanted to avoid using air conditioning, which would have been difficult to install in connected buildings and linked areas that were already occupied. He was also concerned with energy consumption. Says Vanheste: "Air conditioning was too expensive, and you have to find solutions which are energy efficient and meet the Kyoto Agreement targets."

When developing alternatives to a conventional cooling system, the architect worked with solar-control experts from Hunter Douglas' Helioscreen and Mado divisions in Europe. Together they developed an automated solar-control solution that combines 64 external vertical screens with 180 colorful awnings designed by Mado. The Helioscreen systems featured shades of specially coated fiberglass. The shades were placed outside windows where they are roughly twice as efficient at blocking solar heat gain -- and incidentally were easy to install without disturbing residents. They also kept the view to the outside virtually unobstructed.

It was a complex project, explains Helioscreen project manager Staf van Causbroeck: "Modern solar shading is motor driven, and the cables for the motors and sun/wind transmitters had to be covered on the façade of the buildings by special profiles so they would have no impact on the aesthetic look." In addition, all electrical and control cabling was run into a void under the buildings to keep it from view.

All the shades have control systems that can take inputs from a number of different sources, including sun and wind sensors. Residents were also given override switches that allow them to adjust their own shades. According to Vanheste, "The result has been a success" for both the building and the residents. OCMW plans to use the solution on other projects in the future.