I'm working with an architect to design a house that will have a pretty high, west-facing curtain wall (over 2 stories, thanks to an annoying covenant against flat roofs), which means a lot of glass and therefore a ton of solar gain.

We're looking at options for sun shades/breaks (brise soleil for the jargon-inclined), but the sun control products from the curtain wall manufacturer (Kawneer) are very expensive ($100 per lineal foot), and there would have to be a lot of lineal feet for them to be effective.

I like what was done with Pugh Scarpa's Solar Umbrella House (using solar panels as brise soleils), but given the west-facing orientation, that doesn't really work. We're also thinking of an angled shade using punched sheet metal, but I haven't been able to make it look attractive to my eye.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Drawing of the Pugh/Scarpa Solar Umbrella House