Cactus-inspired multifunctional Bio-kinetic façade for energy performance improvement assessed by a novel energy simulation framework

• The proposed cactus-inspired kinetic façade reduces cooling energy by up to 67 %. • Our Bio-kinetic façade efficiently combats overheating issues in various typologies. • Our multifunctional Bio-kinetic façade reduces cooling energy, glaze and CO 2 . • Our new IDA ICE framework provides reliable energy simulation of kinetic facades. • Angle of 125° reduces CO 2 by up to 146 tons/year in temperate climate zone. High cooling energy demands in buildings, especially in temperate and desert climate zones, significantly increase operational costs and contribute to global warming. To mitigate this widespread dilemma, biomimicry offers ample efficient strategies in various means. Interestingly, cacti astutely incorporated robust and efficient self-cooling mechanisms to cope with the hot climate characteristic of the world’s deserts. Therefore, this study designed a multifunctional responsive Bio-kinetic façade (Bio-KF) inspired by the spine net and stoma function of a cactus, specifically, the Ogonchu plant ( Pilosocereus chrysostele) . The proposed Bio-KF aimed to reduce cooling energy, solar heat gain, glare, and Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission in three typologies of detached office buildings with a curtain wall system [Linear (T 1 ), Concentric (T 2 ), and Courtyard (T 3 )] in Sulaimani and Baghdad, associated with temperate and desert climate zones, respectively. To stimulate total, cooling and lighting energy consumption in buildings with Bio-KF, a novel energy simulation framework using IDA Indoor Climate and Energy (ICE) software was developed, which examined at five different opening angles (0°, 50°, 75°, 100° & 125°). The results revealed improved cooling energy efficiency, CO 2 emission, and operational costs ranging from 25 % to 67 %. In conclusion, the simulation results of the Bio-KF promise endeavors to alleviate high energy consumption in these two climate zones of which, these findings necessitate practical translation into real-world applications.