Development of a self-sufficient dynamic façade within the context of climate change

Abstract

Building envelope design is rising in relevance and, within this specific context, the application of passive and climate adaptive building shells (CABS) is investigated as an opportunity for energy savings and improvement of users’ thermal and visual comfort. The paper reports a research concerning the climatic based development of a customized dynamic façade based on a passive self-adaptable system to climatic conditions via actuators. The solution is designed with the aid of a customized workflow based on Ladybug Tools, which is calibrated according to recorded thermal-mechanical behaviours and allow to predict the energy and thermal/visual comfort dynamic performances. The system is tested in four European climates and sky types, tracing the scenarios of its adaptability under various settings. The results indicate that the system by its constant mechanical changes due to the variation of temperatures provides a higher degree of adaptation, energy-saving and indoor thermal and visual comfort