University Roof Uses Operable Louver Arms to Shade Students at Any Time of Day
The roof technology used at the campus at Florida Polytechnic University is a masterful use of design, installation, and implementation.
Edited by EE Staff
Cool Stuff
Jun 16, 2026
Architecture
Florida Polytechnic University is home to the first building with operable louver arms. Appropriately located on the roof of the Science Technology Building, the hydraulics used to move the roof was designed, built, and maintained by Atlantic Hydraulic Systems in conjunction with internationally renowned architect, Santiago Calatrava, who designed the campus. The building has won 20 international awards and was voted one of the sixteen most breathtaking buildings in the world.
Fun and challenging engineering applications has always been a staple at Atlantic Hydraulic Systems, and they were honored to be selected to design, manufacture, install, and commission the hydraulics and controls systems used for the unique and distinctive roof raising project. The white domed building is a movable, workable piece of art considered to be one of the top ten new building designs of the 21st century.
This 16,000-square-foot innovation is the cornerstone of the new campus in Lakeland, FL—less than 20 minutes from Orlando. The building incorporates hydraulic power along with a programmable logic controller (PLC), distributed I/O system, and a control loop software system for positioning.
Ninety-four hydraulic cylinders in lengths from 24-inches to 62-inches are used to position sixty-foot tall louvers that track with the sun. The hydraulic cylinders, ranging in bore from 3.25-inches to 8-inches and having a 59.6-inch stroke, are used to pull the end of the louver over a fulcrum point to lift the opposite end of the louver. The idea was to provide optimal building shade throughout the day in the Florida sun.
The cool part of this application is the ability to control each of the 94 louvers individually using a hydraulic cylinder and manifold. Separate control of each cylinder allows the system to create any roof shape desired—which means that the overall shape of the roof can change throughout the day. Final position accuracy is specified at ±0.25 degrees. The system also incorporates an advanced weather detection system utilizing anemometer and lighting detection feedback, which can shut the roof down in a matter of seconds if necessary.
The movable louvers are controlled by an Allen Bradley (by Rockwell Automation) ControlLogix PLC for control, feedback, and operator interface. The controller talks to each of the 94 hydraulic cylinders that move the louvers up and down, programming the individually articulated pieces to follow the sun’s position to maximize shade. Location feedback is done using inclinometers for direct data rather than having to incorporate linear to angular motion lookup tables.
Each hydraulic system included two roof mounted units with two 60 hp, Parker PD75 industrial pumps, two 10 hp, Parker PD16 pumps for sun tracking, and a 300-gallon oil reservoir with bladder air containment system.
This unprecedented design and implementation has multiple safety capabilities incorporated, such as wind protection, protection from lightning strikes, complete louver closure locks for bad weather, and loss of power protection.
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