Adaptive Facades: Review of Designs, Performance Evaluation, and Control Systems

Adaptive building envelope systems can manage energy and mass transformation between indoor and outdoor environments, which contributes to the achievement of environmental benefits via reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission while maintaining human comfort and well-being. However, the market penetration of adaptive facades (AFs) is far from sufficient, even though their capabilities have been recognized in research. Hence, this paper explores the factors hindering the growth of the market share of AFs, based on an exhaustive examination of designs, evaluation criteria and tools, and control systems. Insufficient commercial technology, inaccurate and incomplete performance data, and inconsistent evaluation criteria are demonstrated to be the factors that have hindered the widespread utilization of AFs thus far. Future research tendencies, including reducing costs, retrofitting existing building facades, developing building performance measurement tools, and building consensus evaluation criteria that favor the wide applicability of such facades in actual practice are identified.

Automated summary

This paper explores the factors hindering the growth of the market share of adaptive facades (AFs) by examining designs, evaluation criteria and tools, and control systems. Insufficient commercial technology, inaccurate and incomplete performance data, and inconsistent evaluation criteria are identified as the main factors that have hindered the widespread utilization of AFs. Future research tendencies include reducing costs, retrofitting existing building facades, developing building performance measurement tools, and building consensus evaluation criteria that favor the wide applicability of such facades in actual practice.