Kinetic Adaptive Façades. A systematic review of technologies and adaptive features

Buildings often adopt strategies based on the integration in façades of solutions and technologies capable of changing their behaviour in time to improve energy efficiency and indoor comfort. Considering that the envelope is the main parameter that influences the energy performance of buildings, façade elements with adaptive features can provide the buildings the necessary flexibility needed in terms of energy performance in the context of nZEB, where the buildings must be interactive in the zero energy and health city context. Several different types of adaptive façade concepts have already been developed, and an increase in emerging, innovative solutions is expected for the near future. Furthermore, according to recent research, the word ‘adaptive’ in the context of building façades is often associated in the literature with a long list of similar words. Moreover, there is no consistent definition of façade adaptability, although studies exist in relation to characterisation issues, design parameter, and classification. Even within the discipline of architecture and engineering, words such as ‘kinetic’, ‘smart’, ‘interactive’, ‘adaptive’, or ‘responsive’ have been used loosely and interchangeably, creating confusion as to their specific meaning and their conceptual relationship to building performance and design. In response to this, the goal of this paper is (starting from the classification of adaptive envelopes developed in the frame of the European Research COST Action TU1403 “Adaptive Façades Network”) to provide a systematic review of kinetic adaptive technologies and their performance features.