Page 33 - European Energy Innovation - spring 2019 publication

Spring 2019 European Energy Innovation 33

BUILDING EFFICIENCY

Adaptive Facades Network
A key to harmonize green
envelope on all future buildings

By Prof. Dr Andreas Luible, Professor, Competence Centre for Building Envelope, Lucerne
University of Applied Sciences and Arts, School of Engineering and Architecture, Switzerland
Most of our facades today are passive systems and exhausted from an energetic point of view. A
collaborative network brought researchers and industry together to develop, design and integrate
next generation adaptive facades to reduce energy demand and carbon emissions of our future
building stock.

The need to reduce energy insulates only when necessary, it a broad range of European
consumption and carbon produces energy when possible and, countries. Foster the development
dioxide emission are the it shades or ventilates when the of novel adaptive facade concepts
most important challenges indoor comfort requires it. Therefore, and technologies. And finally,
facing the building industry. Half of multifunctional and highly adaptive disseminate the activities and
the world’s population lives in urban systems can provide significant achievements of the Action to the
areas where they need home and improvements in the overall widest audience possible.
shelters. One third of all end-user building performance.
energy in Europe is consumed by Networking activities organised
space heating-cooling, ventilation This may be by means of materials, by this COST Action have enabled
and lighting of building which is components or systems. considerable knowledge sharing
governed by the efficiency of the and harmonisation of technologies
building envelope. Several different adaptive facade between stakeholders from industry,
concepts have already been research, and education to a
Energy demand in building can be developed, and an increase in wider audience.
reduced by up to 13% by 2020 and emerging, innovative solutions is
up to 70% by 2050. Therefore, the expected soon. 14 working group meetings,
energy performance of the future two industry workshops, two
building envelopes will play a key role The overarching objective of COST training schools, 31 short-term
in meeting EU’s Climate change and Action, Adaptive Facade Network, scientific missions and two
energy sustainability targets for 2020 which ended in 2018, was to international conferences have
and beyond. harmonise, share and disseminate been organised throughout the
technological knowledge on adaptive duration of the Action.
Adaptive building envelopes are facades at a European level.
multifunctional, able to interact During the four years of the
with the environment and the user This translated into several Action more than 210 experienced
by reacting to external influences. measurable objectives: organise professionals from 28 countries were
knowledge-sharing activities between involved with the objective to support
Behaviour and European research centres and transnational cooperation between
functionality will between these centres and industry. researchers and industry through
also change Encourage the participation of science and technology network.
accordingly: established research centres as Several of these activities were
the building well as early-stage researchers from incubators for new research and the
envelope

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