I understand Jazz Arrows keep it from freezing. Also flow and whatever break mitigation to-do is needed. Bets on capillary spacing rather than prism-shaped windows with fat abutments. Also some kind of continuous water still, of course. No idea if Saskatchewan is a no-go but it’s right there… [Unable to get good art deco windows from Craiyon yet…]
Need those arrows on the fire escape plan.
I suppose you may not have that choice if you’ve committed to some desperately modern glass, glass, and more glass design(though, in that case, you’ll probably need to have a chat with a structural engineer before adding that much water to the design); but even if having a bunch of external radiators/thermal solar surfaces to exploit is worth it the windows seem like about the worst possible place to add them.
Significantly cheaper to fabricate, per unit area, if you don’t need to concern yourself with maintaining transparency; and if the working fluid loop is mostly outside the building’s weather barriers(whether on the roof or on the side walls) so leaks can be treated as a nuisance rather than a crisis; and both roof mounted thermal solar modules and flat radiators suitable for side mounting(like the ones commonly seen in arrays cooling substation transformers, if painted a less grim color) are fairly simple and fairly old news.
Is this aimed at cases where the subject has glazed themselves into a corner and has nothing but windows to work with; or did somebody reinvent windows because all the sensible places to interact with solar energy have already been done and nobody gives you a gold star for reinventing the wheel?
Old Lady 
brand windows.
Correct.
And window seals fail all the time.
Oh how I wish I did not know that personally and recently [and expensively].
Setting aside questions of algae, the thermal mass and thermal properties of water, the first order of business, when seeking to keep a house cool is avoiding solar penetration by having extended roof overhang (eaves) to keep summer sunlight out of the living space. In winter, you want solar penetration to heat the living space, preferably because you have a nice thermal mass on the south side of your house to heat and store the thermal energy.
Ideally, the house would have good solar orientation.
Sadly, production builders in the U.S. don’t bother. Giant developments typically are laid out according to maximizing profit.
Why do giant developments have crazy pitch roofs and like very few vents save those in gables, which really why? [Looks at pretty much one bunch of development.] Is it easier to permit tier stories if the building was pointing through it first? Is it a kind of defense against solar installers?
I have not formally studied building science but work somewhat building science-adjacent.
Roof pitch can vary based on climate conditions and geography. Ice- and snow-loading (flatter pitched roofs would cave in from a big load of snow, or allow pooling) require steeper pitches. In wet climates, you want the roof to dry out fast, and steeper pitches shed water faster.
Vented gables are best for areas where you don’t want heat escaping the thermal envelope of the building.
Since this design precludes an openable window, it seems like that would be a pretty significant downside (in addition to the issues you mention). People like to be able to open their windows for fresh air and for safety. Some localities require a certain amount of openable window in the house or in certain rooms. And there is usually only so much room (and budget) for windows on a given house, so “just add more windows” may not be a realistic solution. Not to mention, this is trying to mitigate the efficiency problems with standard windows in the first place — adding more standard windows to mitigate the problems with this type of window system would be kind of admitting defeat.
Most modern pitched roofs use ridge venting, which may not appear to be vents. Look for a slightly raised set of shingles at the ridges of the roof — under those are a low profile vent that goes the whole length of the ridge.
The renderings shown on the website show commercial grade triple glazed IGUs in a commercial curtainwall type frame, so most certainly it is aimed at cases like these:
Exactly. And look what all those designs have in common. Someone designed a structure with little thought of where it would go, then had to figure out how to make the space inside comfortable for human occupancy.
Don’t get me wrong, and not directed at you, I think it’s cool that people are experimenting with new ideas and technologies. As someone who’s been in the building science field for a while now I just get frustrated that it’s always these whiz bang shiny new things that get all the press. I alluded to it above, and @anon27554371 provided great examples, we already have a very well-equipped tried and true tool box of methods to address issues like solar gain, heat loss, all that stuff.
So experimentation is cool, but the people doing the slogging, tedious work of updating building codes and making sure they’re enforced are doing more for reducing energy use and improving human health and comfort in the built environment. I wish they got more recognition.
Yeah, i chose the examples i did because they are anodyne, uninspired and not thoughtfully designed in a way to take advantage of geometry or landscape to create a functional building. To be clear, i do think this is a terrible idea regardless of the market segment it is aimed at.
Also, reading through the website they mentioned that their design uses off the shelf IGUs. This wishful thinking at best, misleading at worst. I cant imagine any IGU manufacturer honoring thier warranty when this is done, without some serious collaboration ahead of time.
