Ph. D. Thesis.To deliver climate adaptive architecture, current trends in architecture are directed
towards dynamic and responsive building skins. ‘Responsive building skin’ is used to describe
the ability of building envelopes to adapt in real time in response to external environmental
conditions. Recent attention has focused on ‘soft robotics’ approach which uses soft and/or
extensible materials to deform with muscle‐like actuation, mimicking biological systems.
Material embedded actuation can autonomously alter shading systems’ morphology
stimulated by external environmental conditions. Passively thermally‐activated shading
systems offer responsive actuation by solar‐radiation and stratified hot air in a double skin
façade (DSF) without recourse to energy consuming systems.
This research identifies the intersection between bio‐inspiration, folding principles and
smart materials to integrate the underlying mechanisms in responsive solar‐shading systems
and assesses their environmental performance. The thesis proposes an interdisciplinary mixed
methodology linking hands‐on experimentation with environmental performance simulation
of responsive building skins. ‘Practice‐led approach’ is used to explore the design potential of
responsive systems using smart materials. ‘Computational Fluid Dynamics’ (CFD) numerical
methods are used to measure the impact of responsive solar‐shading systems on multiple
environmental factors in a DSF cavity. This helps the design decisions, selection and
customisation of smart materials. Hands‐on experimentation is used to explore various
prototypes, leading to the selection of a folded prototype, to be simulated for environmental
performance. Solar‐shading systems are tested within a DSF, in an hot arid climate. Flat and
folded solar‐shading devices are installed in a DSF cavity with three aperture sizes (30%, 50%
& 70%) to represent the responsive system states. Point‐in‐time simulations are carried at
9:00 am, 12:00 pm and 15:00 pm in peak summer and winter day.
The developed analytical design framework presents different design parameters for
responsive solar‐shading systems to guide decision‐making in research of climate actuated
smart shading systems.
Keywords: Responsive skins, Adaptive facades, Soft robotics, Bio‐inspiration, Origami,
Deployable structures, Actuation, Smart materials, Shape memory alloys, Double skin facades,
Energy efficiency, Digital simulation, CFD Modelling