Climate Responsive Building Envelopes. From facade shading systems to adaptive shells.

The effort spent in the last decades to improve the building envelope performances, in order to meet energy saving standards and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has led to significantly rethink the envelope concept, its functions and the related architectural features. Many interrelated parameters contribute in defining a quite complex functional framework highly influenced by varying environmental conditions on daily and seasonal basis that are undergoing radical alterations due to the effects of climate change. This book explores the wide range of solutions in building envelope design particularly focusing on the use of shading systems to contribute in regulating indoor conditions providing a reflection about the main drivers of innovation and evolution in this sector. It also provides a systemic analysis of the main characteristics of shading systems according to their geometrical, functional, technical features offering a flexible and inclusive classification methodology. A specific attention is given to adaptive solutions intended as a tool to equip the building of a responsive behaviour to variable conditions that largely influence its comprehensive performances. The book investigates the innovative trends in this sector, carefully considering the uncertain path that leads to develop completely different approaches and strategies as well as the experimental nature of the examined solutions, offering a concrete example of application. The scope is not to provide conclusive positions but to open the design perspective to tomorrow’s challenges.