Why don't we use awnings anymore (2022)

I suspect it's not really "forgot". I suspect it's "awnings require ongoing maintenance".

Also, I imagine it was a hassle making sure they were closed and secured when a storm came up - and expensive to repair (not to mention dangerous) if you forgot it...

I had an awning and a pool enclosure in South Florida. So did most houses in the neighborhood. Then the 2004 hurricane season happened, and there was neither of each around anywhere ever again.

Also windows now have low-emissivity (low E) coatings. The coating varies light transmission depending on the sun angle. When the sun is high in summer some visible light but more UV and IR is reflected. When the sun is low in the winter more light can pass through. Pretty much what an awning does.

From the piece:

> The metal frame could last for decades without needing changing, and the fabric covering would need to be replaced every 8-10 years depending on exposure and climate.

This is very cool. How recent is this? We purchased an older house with an HOA that discourages awnings. I had been considering petitioning for one but a low-emissivity coating would be easier.

A/C systems, especially central ones, also require maintenance, albeit of a much different kind. Purely from a cost perspective, awnings are probably cheaper in the long run but the demand for comfort is more compelling than the cost of maintaining an A/C system.

Low-e windows coatings have been around since the 70's. They have gotten better over the decades, but I can't say how much they've changed. When buying new windows, this is a very common and cheap option.

It'd be interesting to see a study on low E coatings, the argon and other exotic fillings, and of course, ye olde "close the curtain" (which I acknowledge heats up inside the dwelling but still can reflect some) versus awnings. I wouldn't be terribly surprised that the answer comes out either that modern approaches are competitive or even superior overall (especially with the "close the curtain" backup)... but of course, a building has to actually have them before they can help, and that would still leave a decades-large temporal hole between "awnings became unpopular" and "awnings are no longer terribly useful" that can still be explored.

No doubt true but I laughed reading this because I have an A/C technician working at my house right now, for like the tenth time this year.

Or maybe much more simple and obvious - "they cost to be installed and the developer/builder saved some money on a thing and related labor".

Not sure how its in US, but houses here in some parts of Europe have literally become completely plain white cubes to minimize building costs as much as possible. No more roof overhangs (which brings problems), no more awnings, no decorations, practically no balconies or varied designs. Just sets of suburban white cubes.

That's not common in the US (yet). Things here are still predominantly stick built with 2x6 framing, either on a concrete slab or concrete foundation with a dug out crawlspace. Basements are decreasingly common, even in regions where they had been the norm (due to cost, mostly).

They are seriously ending the roof right at the wall? That is monumentally stupid and will guarantee a multitude of problems down the line.

Yep, e.g. france: https://www.properstar.ch/france/hesingue/buy/house

There's a crop of these hideous things I've seen around Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland and rest of central Europe.

I got a new house recently. The default windows were pretty good already. My wife still did not like the amount of light coming in. I still wanted some. So we compromised. We bought reflective window tinting. About 500 bucks to do the front of the house. Will do the back next. Easily reduced the temp in house by quite a bit.

The other thing the builder did foam insulation of the garage doors and walls. Easily 20F difference from my previous house in the same area. Reflective ridged insulation in the attic too. My old house 110 easily, in the summer. It is basically the same temp as the outside now. Cost for the AC is basically half what my pervious house was. I would go for awnings at this point as it is basically one of the few things left I could realistically do. But HOA...

Good lord. I don't know how exactly it's constructed but I'm guessing a house made like that is either going to require extensive annual maintenance, or start rotting/crumbling in 15-20 years.

So if there's a concrete skirt around the entire boundary of the house with a proper slant, wont the water run off properly?

The French always had a soft spot for the Modernist style of Le Corbusier. The linked property doesnt seem too far from a Villa Savoye or the Roche Jeanneret residence.

Unfortunately, the truth of both those places, and in fact all the strict Modernist/Brutalist buildings of the postwar period, is that rain absolutely f*ks them over. No amount of tar paper, roofing tile, etc., can help against a flat roof, frequent precipitation, and a temperature climate.

I'd be interested in a link about low E coatings that depend on the sun angle, a quick search doesn't yield anything.

Either way it's not a sufficient solution because AFAIK even the best solar protection glass will let 1/3 of the sun's heat in, which is an enormous amount when you have long summer days.

you must have a lot of units

3, but also bad luck (“dirty sock syndrome” right from the get-go) and a very hot & humid environment