Brise soleil, sometimes brise-soleil (French pronunciation: [bʁiːz sɔlɛj], plural, "brise-soleil" (invariable), from French, "sun breaker"), in architecture refers to a variety of permanent sun-shading structures, ranging from the simple patterned concrete walls popularized by Le Corbusier to the elaborate wing-like mechanism devised by Santiago Calatrava for the Milwaukee Art Museum or the mechanical, pattern-creating devices of the Institut du Monde Arabe by Jean Nouvel.
In the typical form, a horizontal projection extends from the sunside facade of a building. This is most commonly used to prevent facades with a large amount of glass from overheating during the summer. Often louvers are incorporated into the shade to prevent the high-angle summer sun falling on the facade, but also to allow the low-angle winter sun to provide some passive solar heating.
The Arab World Institute (abbreviated "AWI"; French: Institut du Monde Arabe, abbreviated "IMA") is an organization founded in Paris in 1980 by 18 Arab countries with France to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural and spiritual values. The Institute also promotes cooperation and exchanges between France and the Arab nations, particularly in the areas of science and technology, contributing to understanding between the Arab world and Europe. Libya joined the institute in 1984.