Rethinking Building Skins

Rethinking Building Skins: Transformative Technologies and Research Trajectories provides a comprehensive collection of the most relevant and forward-looking research in the field of façade design and construction today, with a focus on both product and process innovation. The book brings together the expertise, creativity, and critical thinking of more than fifty global innovators from both academia and industry, to guide the reader in translating research into practice. It identifies new opportunities for the construction sector to respond to present challenges, towards a more sustainable, efficient, connected, and safe future. Introduces the reader to the role of façades with respect to the main challenges ahead Provides an overview of the major façade technological advancements throughout history and identifies prospective research trajectories Includes interviews with key industry players from different backgrounds and expertise Showcases a comprehensive range of leading research topics in the field, organised by product and process innovation Covers major innovations across the value chain including façade design, fabrication, construction, operation and maintenance, and end-of-life Contributes towards the definition of an international research agenda and identifies emerging market opportunities for the façade industry

Design modelling has benefited from computation but in most projects to date there is still a strong division between computational design and simulation leading up to construction and the completed building that is cut off from the computational design modelling. The Design Modelling Symposium Berlin 2013 would like to challenge the participants to reflect on the possibility of computational systems that bridge design phase and occupancy of buildings. This rethinking of the designed artifact beyond its physical has had profound effects on other industries already. How does it affect architecture and engineering? At the scale of engineering and building systems new perspectives may open up by engaging built form as a continuous prototype, which can track and respond during use and serve as a real world implementation of its design model. This has been tried many times from intelligent façades to smart homes and networked grids but much of it was only technology driven and not approached from a more holistic design perspective.

This book is a compilation of selected papers from the 5th International Conference on Building Energy and Environment (COBEE2022), held in Montreal, Canada, in July 2022. The work focuses on the most recent technologies and knowledge of building energy and the environment, including health, energy, urban microclimate, smart cities, safety, etc. The contents make valuable contributions to academic researchers, engineers in the industry, and regulators of buildings. As well, readers encounter new ideas for achieving healthy, comfortable, energy-efficient, resilient, and safe buildings.

This book provides a clear picture of how computational processes are gradually permeating and innovating the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction sector, contributing to sustainability and aesthetic evolution. It achieves that by gathering a collection of accounts shared by pioneering professionals involved in this innovation, drawing from recent academic studies, ongoing experimental processes conducted in cutting-edge architectural and engineering offices, as well as innovative industrial applications. The covered subjects span a wide range, including artificial intelligence and robotic manufacturing, the metaverse and 3D printing, strategies to counter CO2 consumption through plug-ins, as well as emerging materials and construction techniques. The chapters feature authors who are pioneers and embrace roles like software developers, architects, process engineers, academics, and forward-thinking entrepreneurs. They represent authoritative references within a broader interconnected cultural and technological system; an eclectic system that finds in computational processes the key to addressing the new challenges of contemporary architecture.

This book examines green transition and circular economy in the fields of building design and Real Estate management. By outlining windows for seizing the opportunity to integrate circular approaches in current building practices, the book provides information tools to support building stakeholders (e.g. building designer and managers, manufacturers, Real Estate owners, maintenance operators, facility managers, etc.) in: (i) understanding circular re-strategies (e.g. reuse, remanufacturing, repurposing, etc.), the related requirements and the pre-conditions for their implementation within building design and management practices; (ii) reviewing design approaches at the product and building scale, also highlighting new circularity-related contents for the Briefing Documents; (iii) developing circular organizational and contract models for the procurement of Facility Management services, also integrating new circularity-related contents in Invitations to Tenders (ITTs); and (iv) assessing the quality and the effectiveness of circular practices, also highlighting circularity performance metrics and indicators in the context of corporate sustainability reporting.

The Leaf Plan. Towards the Ecological Transition presents innovative methodologies and practices to guide and support a sustainable urban development to cope with climate, social, economic changes. The book will illustrate comprehensive design approaches to address climate change, urban metabolism, temporary uses, landscape multifunctionality, cohabitation through new modes of urban design based on criteria of flexibility and adaptability. Trento is the experimental territory where the innovative process, methodologies and theoretical reflection have been tested above the framework of the three-year research project “TUT Trento Urban Transformation”. The book is structured around the five challenges (Ecological, Accessible, Smart, Welcoming and Beauty) proposed by the TUT research group for the Trento Leaf Plan, the new metabolic plan for the city of Trento. Beside the innovative field-test experimentations, the holistic methodological approach proposed by the book will be transferable and adapted in other metropolitan contexts to enhance the urban ecological transition. The publication, edited by the TUT research group, will include theoretical essays, critical selection of reference projects, operational tools, and interviews with experts in ecological transition, sustainable mobility, co-design approach, sharing, and urban resilience.

Façade design is a challenging task, in which multidisciplinary issues and aspects should be optimally considered and addressed. This is especially the case of building façades exposed to seismic events, impacts, or fire. Special attention and major efforts are required for the detection and application of new technologies in the generation of modern, adaptive façade systems. This book presents a selection of research contributions to provide a comprehensive overview of façade design. It discusses the experimental analysis and numerical investigation of existing or traditional façades, as well as the development and optimal application of new technologies for modern adaptive façades and building envelopes.

Developments in data acquisition technologies, digital information and analysis, automated construction processes, and advanced materials and products have finally started to move the construction industry - traditionally reluctant to innovation and slow in adopting new technologies - toward a new era. Massive changes are occurring because of the possibilities created by Building information modeling, Extended reality, Internet of Things, Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning, Big data, Nanotechnology, 3D printing, and other advanced technologies, which are strongly interconnected and are driving the capabilities for much more efficient construction at scale. Construction 4.0: Advanced Technology, Tools and Materials for the Digital Transformation of the Construction Industry provides readers with a state-of-the-art review of the ongoing digital transformation of the sector within the new 4.0 framework, presenting a thorough investigation of the emerging trends, technologies, and strategies in the fields of smart building design, construction, and operation and providing a comprehensive guideline on how to exploit the new possibilities offered by the digital revolution. It will be an essential reference resource for academic researchers, material scientists and civil engineers, undergraduate and graduate students, and other professionals working in the field of smart ecoefficient construction and cutting-edge technologies applied to construction. Provides an overview of the Construction 4.0 framework to address the global challenges of the buildingsector in the 21st century and an in-depth analysis of the most advanced digital technologies and systems forthe operation and maintenance of infrastructure, real estate, and other built assets Covers major innovations across the value chain, including building design, fabrication, construction, operationand maintenance, and end-of-life Illustrates the most advanced digital tools and methods to support the building design activity, includinggenerative design, virtual reality, and digital fabrication Presents a thorough review of the most advanced construction materials, building methods, and techniquesfor a new connected and automated construction model Explores the digital transformation for smart energy buildings and their integration with emerging smartgrids and smart cities Reflects upon major findings and identifies emerging market opportunities for the whole AECO sector