In popular architecture, lattices involve the art of seeing without being seen. The lattice as an element for closing openings, integrated in the enclosure, is much seen in traditional architecture. Use of it has been widespread for both cultural and climatic reasons, whether to provide shade or to make the interior of the building invisible to people outside while still enabling those inside to see the outside.

Mediterranean architecture, likewise, has relied on this traditional element, as in the French brise soleil or the mallorquinas of eastern Spain. Visual functions and solar protection are entrusted to an external layer, while environmental, hygrothermal, and acoustic protection are irremediably for an internal layer to take care of. We are therefore speaking of double-layered enclosures where the layers have to perform different functions, and where the inner one, whether it is opaque or transparent, serves as a physical barrier.