Development of an Adaptive Passive Façade: A replicable approach for managing multiple design solutions

Users’ well being and satisfaction are a key priority in the current architectural design trends and represent a relevant issue in a human-centred perspective. Concerning this aim, the application of climate adaptive building shells (CABS) offers relevant opportunities for tackling these challenges. This paper reports the outcomes of a study run on CABS to optimise the indoor comfort while calibrating the configuration of a dynamic facade module. Through the physical measurements of the environment and the integration of these values in the parametric process for integrating daylight and thermal performance into the design phase, a performance-based workflow evaluation supported the design of a Passive Adaptive Façade. The purpose of this work is to provide a replicable method that is the base of a facade system design. The system, made of simple horizontal louvres, has a controlled movement manoeuvred by an actuator that exploits the expansion of a thermo-active resin. The louvres can rotate and close passively with the increase of the external temperature. Results show the uniformity of distribution of daylight across the entire space and the substantial gain of indoor thermal comfort.