An intelligent building envelope adapts to its environment through perception, reasoning, and action. This allows it to cope with new situations and solve problems that arise from interacting with the environment. Several examples of intelligent and responsive building envelopes are described: 1) An algae facade in Germany that produces energy. Algae grow on the facade and heat water as they photosynthesize, harnessing this heat. 2) A light-responsive facade in Abu Dhabi with moveable sun screens that open at night to allow views while deflecting glare during the day. 3) A smog-eating facade for a Mexico City hospital coated with a material that uses titanium dioxide and UV light to destroy

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INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF -
MRS. RICHA MALIK
RAJAT NAINWAL
B. ARCH. ( VII SEM. )
110695027
SAP, SHARDA UNIV.
Building envelopes func on as an environmental filters: they form a skin around
thebuildingandcontroltheinfluenceoftheoutdoorenvironment.
In a hot arid climate, due to problems such as overhea ng and high solar gain,
intelligentdesignstrategiesandtechnologiesforbuildingenvelopearenecessary.
More than one third of energy is consumed in buildings, more than in industry or
transport, and the absolute figure is rising fast as the construc on booms.
Tall office buildings need a en on due to their large size, energy consump on for
coolingandligh ng,andhighlyglazedfacades.
An intelligent building envelope adapts itself to its environment by means of percep on, reasoning and
ac on. This adap veness enables an intelligent building envelope to cope with new situa ons and solve
problemsthatariseinitsinterac onwiththeenvironment.
Intelligencemayberelatedtotheresponsiveperformanceofthebuildingenvelope.
An ‘intelligent’ facade is not characterized primarilyby how much it is driven by technology, but instead by the
interac on between the facade, the building’s services and the environment. Building facades are of great
importance since they func on as an environmental filter: they form a skin around the building and control
theinfluenceoftheoutdoorenvironment.
1). An Energy-Producing Algae Facade
This 2,150-square-foot wall, unveiled in Germany this spring, is
the result of three years of tes ng by a group of designers
fromSpli erwerkArchitectsandArup.
Its vibrant characteris c isn't just an aesthe c flourish—in fact,
it's nted by millions of microscopic algae plants, which are
beingfednutrientsandoxygentospurbiomassproduc on.
Facilitatedbydirectsunlight,thespeedily-growingli lecellsend
up hea ng the water, and that heat is harvested by the system
2). A Light-Responsive Facade That "Breathes“
This pair of Abu Dhabi towers are sheathed in a thin skin of
glass—fashionable, but not ideal for the desert climate.
So the architects at Aedas designed a special, secondary sun
screen that deflects some of the glare without permanently
b l o c k i n g t h e v i e w s .
At night they all fold, so they all close, so you’ll see more of
the facade. It's using an old technique in a modern way,
which also responds to the aspira on of the emirate to take
a leadership role in the area of sustainability.
3 ) . A F a c a d e T h a t E a t s S m o g
Back in 2011, the chemical company Alcoa unveiled a remarkable
technology that could clean the air around it. The material contained
tanium dioxide, which effec vely "scrubbed" the air of toxins by
releasing spongy free radicals that could eliminate pollutants. The
stuff has made appearances on streets, clothing, and architecture
since then—most recently, on the sun screen of a new Mexico City
h o s p i t a l .
The hospital is cloaked in a 300-foot-long skin ofProsolve les. The
technology is based on the same process: As air filters around the
sponge-shaped structures, UV-light-ac vated free radicals destroy
any exis ng pollutants, leaving the air cleaner for the pa ents inside.
Even the shape of the sun screen is significant: It creates turbulence
and slows down air flow around the building, while sca ering the UV
4 ) . A L o w - T e c h , O p e r a b l e S k i n
In Melbourne, Sean Godsell Architects sheathed RMIT's design school in
thousands of small, sandblasted glass circles—each affixed to a central rod.
Based on humidity and temperature inside the building, these rods pivot
automa cally to facilitate (or block) the flow of air through the facade.
T h i s s u n s h a d e w a s m a d e w i t h
thermobimetal—a material that's actually a
laminate of two different metals, each with
its own thermal expansion coefficient.
That means that each side reacts differently
to sunlight, expanding and contrac ng at
different rates—causing tension between the
two surfaces, and ul mately, a curling effect.
So when the surface gets hot, the thin panels
on the shade curl up to allow more air to pass
through to the space below—and when it
c o o l s d o w n , i t c l o s e s u p a g a i n .
5). A Metal Mesh That Reacts to Heat
A temporary installa on by USC
architecture professorDoris Kim Sung,
isn'ttechnicallyafacade.
S u n g ' s r e s e a r c h d e a l s w i t h
biomime cs, or how architecture can
BENEFITS
- Thermal mass (provided the acous cs are sa sfactory).
-Stable and comfortable thermal condi ons.
-Freedom from distrac ng noise. -Air infiltra on under control.
- Operable windows close to the users. - Views out.
- Effec ve controls with clear, usable interfaces.
- Window-to-wall area ra o
- Window geometry and loca on - Type of glazing and shading
- Thermal insula on of wall
- Energy produc on - Energy storage
Control integra on