To avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis, we urgently need to reduce carbon emissions now. But that's not enough! This original article for SKINS by Drew Shula is a veritable manifesto on the why and how of climate action for all of us.
A question for architects and building industry: Can our cities be part of the solution to the challenges facing humanity, or are they intrinsically and inevitably a big part of the problem? To move beyond the latter demands nothing less than a fundamental shift in the way we think about buildings.
The first Vitruvian Honors & Awards program took place in 2021. The virtual program highlights the finalists in each project category.
Professor Timo Schmidt and Research Assistant David Bjelland of the University of Applied Sciences, Augsburg, propose a human centric planning guide for façade design that provides a tool to optimize façade components to match enhanced occupant well-being and health.
Authors Christina Koukelli, Arup, Alejandro Prieto, Diego Portales University, and Serdar Asut, TU Delft, address the potentials of Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) for the design of autoreactive facade systems without using additional energy.
This study, completed by an interdisciplinary team from the University of Buffalo and Alfred University explores a thermal mass application using terracotta blocks that can be reconfigured for different seasons.
This paper, written by a team at the Technical University at Darmstadt, uses examples of 3D printed structural glass, reinforced thin-sheet façade panels, and nesting bricks that can be integrated directly into facades to support work successful industrial applications.
Ivan Lee, a Building Science Consultant at Morrison Hershfield recognizes the importance of mitigating thermal bridging to meet low energy targets for buildings. He points out that many jurisdictions are starting to incorporate thermal bridging into their codes and standards
Gensler architects Jessica Santonastaso and Alan Estabrook survey existing research on embodied carbon in exterior wall assemblies and the availability of product declarations for relevant materials.
This paper discusses façade resilience and presents a novel qualitative evaluation framework that assesses potential risks associated with façade design and suggests way of reducing such design risk in a climate change scenario. Authors Fabio Favoino, Adèle Chalumeau, and Audrey Aquaronne.
Authors and educators Eugenia Gasparri, Arianna Brambilla, Gabriele Lobaccaro, Francesco Goia, Annalisa Andaloro, and Alberto Sangiorgio address the major challenges and opportunities ahead for the construction (and façade) sector, with a focus on product and process innovations.
The 2022 World Congress was special in many ways, but first on everyone’s list was the opportunity to be together on October 12 and 13 in Los Angeles. Our previous World Congress in 2020 was held online due to the global pandemic.
A question for architects and building industry: Can our cities be part of the solution to the challenges facing humanity, or are they intrinsically and inevitably a big part of the problem? To move beyond the latter demands nothing less than a fundamental shift in the way we think about buildings.
Biofacades integrate biological systems into building enclosures. This article introduces performance benefits, challenges, and taxonomies for different forms of building-nature integration. Beyond green walls, other forms of living matter such as algae and myceli
The May SKINS newsletter focuses on fenestration, that is – windows, curtainwall, storefront, glazed doors and skylights. There are very few structures that are built without these elements, not just because they are so crucial for occupant health and well-being.
Lisa Heschong, a keynote speaker at the Facade Tectonics Institute’s World Congress in October, is a strong proponent for the importance of daylighting and views in all types of buildings, including this excerpt from her recent book, Visual Design in Architecture: Daylight, Vision, and View.
Material flows of the fossil fuel industry, from exploration and extraction to distribution and combustion, are massive on a global scale. In 2019, the world produced approximately 80 million barrels of crude oil per day, with most being used as a feedstock for combustible fuels.
The advantages and challenges for FRP in architectural applications as discussed in our 2015 paper are still very much true today. As the advantages of FRP are discussed comprehensively elsewhere in this issue of SKINS, I will focus my comments on FRP fire behavior.
The Editorial Board of Technology | Architecture + Design (TAD) would like to share its current Call for Papers and invite contributions for the upcoming TECTONICS issue. Submissions may choose to address the focus area identified in this call for papers.
There have been 26 Conferences on Climate Change sponsored by the United Nations. The most recent conference, COP 26, was held in 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. With 200 countries in attendance, all eyes were set on achieving the goal of limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
