Physiomimetic Façade Design - translating biological codes for adaptive, robust facade designs

There is an urgent need for smart solutions in the building sector that provide robust but climate-sensitive functionality for sustainable buildings. Adaptive façades are part of this solution. They are designed to actively regulate the exchange of material and energy flows, improving the balance between comfort and energy consumption. However, their current technical complexity leads to higher development effort, maintenance and costs. Embedded and material-considerate adaptability could be an approach to reduce these drawbacks. If embedded adaptability is to work, it must become part of the design. Nature offers fascinating examples of how the particularities of geometry and material arrangements can contribute to adaptive functionality. In her presentation, Susanne Gosztonyi highlights her approach to the systematic, function-oriented transfer of thermo-adaptive principles from nature to the early design stage of façade systems, the so-called physiomimetic façade design. She discusses how biomimetics can be combined with building physics and architectural engineering, and how this can help reducing technical complexity while maintaining functionality, and increase the robustness and resilience of adaptive facades.