Smart and Sustainable Building-Envelope Technologies Under Climate Change
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2026 | Viewed by 8
Special Issue Editors
Interests: project management; construction management; architectural engineering; project engineering; building energy efficiency; energy rehabilitation; industrialized construction; sustainable design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: thermal comfort; climate change; building energy efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: thermal comfort; climate control of open spaces; building energy efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: digital transformation; sustainable supply chain; smart and sustainable building envelopes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Climate change is fundamentally reshaping how we design and upgrade our built environment, placing the building envelope at the forefront of innovation. Thus, building envelopes must not only evolve to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, but also adapt to new climate realities. This Special Issue aims to explore cutting-edge solutions that make building envelopes smarter, more sustainable, and more resilient. It spans four key dimensions: technological innovation (e.g., IoT-enabled adaptive façades, smart materials, BIPV systems for on-site renewable energy), sustainability (life-cycle analysis, energy efficiency, and low-carbon materials to reduce environmental impact), architectural design (integrating new envelope technologies seamlessly into design for functionality, esthetics, and occupant well-being), and climate adaptation (strategies for thermal comfort and resilience in the face of extreme climate conditions, from hot arid zones to coastal cities and urban heat islands).
We welcome research on both advanced solutions for new constructions and innovative retrofit approaches for existing buildings, recognizing that climate-responsive envelopes are critical for both future and current building stock. By bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives from architecture, civil engineering, materials science, and environmental design, this Special Issue offers a platform for authors to present transformative research and best practices. The goal is to inspire collaborative efforts toward establishing building-envelope technologies that can thrive under changing climatic conditions while advancing sustainability and design excellence.
Prof. Dr. Alberto Cerezo-Narváez
Dr. Daniel Sánchez-García
Prof. Dr. María del Carmen Guerrero Delgado
Dr. Magadalena Ramirez-Peña
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- smart façades
- adaptive systems
- building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)
- life-cycle analysis
- thermal comfort resilience
- climate adaptation
- building retrofits
- energy efficiency
- architectural design
- smart materials
- urban heat island
- internet of things (IoT)
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
