Investigating the Impacts of Climate-Adaptive Building Shells’ Performance on the Indoor Environment Parameters in Kermanshah

Climate-adaptive building shells (CABS) are designed to dynamically respond to environmental parameters, unlike the static facades of traditional buildings, which cannot adjust to external conditions. Traditional building facades often fail to adapt to varying climatic conditions, negatively affecting thermal comfort, visual comfort, and energy efficiency. This limitation is particularly noticeable in office environments, where the quality of the internal environment significantly impacts both staff efficiency and user satisfaction, making it crucial to maintain optimal conditions. This paper aims to (I) explain the reasons for selecting CABS to enhance the performance of building facades and (II) design and present a new example of such a façade. To achieve this, a CABS was designed and evaluated on the facade of an office building in Kermanshah using Rhino-Grasshopper software. The performance of this facade was assessed based on its ability to maintain thermal comfort, provide visual comfort, prevent glare, and offer adequate lighting for office use. Simulation data analyzed using Grasshopper software revealed that implementing CABS in rooms with direct light exposure adjusted the radiant temperature within the comfort zone 73% of the time, representing a 35.3% improvement over conditions without CABS. These adaptive shells minimize solar heat absorption during peak heat hours, balance internal temperature fluctuations, and, depending on the room's orientation, reduce solar ray intensity, light glare, and the number of dazzling light hours per year. CABS convert sunlight into Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI) suitable for office environments. Consequently, the use of CABS led to a 79.5% increase in useful light levels and improved UDI quality and efficiency compared to non-CABS situations.