Development of a performance-based design framework for multifunctional climate-responsive façades

Climate-responsive facades (CRFs) present a new paradigm for high-performance building façade design as they provide a dynamic response to exterior environmental loads. CRFs represent a new approach compared to typical façades constructed as static barriers with a fixed performance to separate the indoor and outdoor conditions. CRFs regulate the multiple environmental loads simultaneously through dynamic responses of different components. This study aims to develop a pre-design tool to support the selection of suitable technologies to create multifunctional CRFs. The proposed framework includes five steps that lead to a qualitative assessment of the façade requirements based on quantitative metrics. These steps include defining the objectives of a CRF, setting performance constraints based on environmental and building contexts, defining a responsive operation scenario, selecting the most suitable technology, and finally creating a conceptual design of the CRF. The framework's application is verified in designing a transparent and opaque CRF module based on the layout of a ventilated cavity Trombe wall. The discussion section shows that the specific metrics in the framework and their quantitative ranges are generalizable and can be adjusted to match case-specific architectural, environmental, and technical criteria. The applicability of the framework for the early decision-making stages of façade design is finally discussed, looking at the future steps for better integration of climate-responsive facades.