Sunlight Towers, Lawrence Kocher, 1929

Here's an interesting project which was sun-responsive but not solar heated.  Therefore I place projects like this in the category of heliotherapeutic architecture as distinct from solar architecture.  (This is not a value judgement; it discerns that the architecture is not concerned with solar heating and therefore not designed strategically with regard to orientation and solar geometry.  Kocher is interested in sunlight for health and hygiene.)

The fact that Sunlight Towers was was sun-responsive but not solar heated is indicated by the large amount of glass, with corner windows in all major rooms, placed in every direction, irrespective of orientation.  Kocher oriented the towers at forty-five degree angles to the urban grid.  He sought daylight (and cross-ventilation) but did not optimize to gather solar heat and protect against the cold north.  This is classic 1920s architecture, influenced by the sanatorium movement and Le Corbusier.

The project was not built.  This was published in Architectural Record in March 1929 (just before the Great Depression).

Had it been built, it would have used a large amount of energy, and it would have been quite uncomfortable, by later standards.

See also: Le Corbusier and the Sun