Adaptive Building Skins: Towards the Application of ML and Advanced Materials (e.g., Kirigamis, Origamies, etc.)

Dear Colleagues,

The building skin is not inert, but instead transforms dynamically to regulate the internal environment, reducing its power demands. There is a wide range of research exploring concepts for adaptive building façades which contribute to a diverse set of non-structural functions, including occupant thermal comfort, energy performance, interior acoustic performance, visual performance, and others. The emerging concept of smart buildings, which requires the incorporation of sensors and Big Data and utilizes machine learning (ML), promises to usher in a new age of urban energy efficiency. By using ML technologies in smart buildings, energy consumption can be reduced through better control, improved reliability, and automation. Here, the goal is to demonsterate the use of ML and structural mechanisms (metamaterials based on origami and/or kirigami-inspired structures) to create systems, for which the adaptability is a more intrinsic property of the façade component. Structural mechanisms can create the controllable deformation of components with intrinsic structural behaviors, but with more standard materials. This Special Issue aims to investigate and identify dynamic kirigami/origami-inspired façade typologies, technologies, and techniques made using ML. The consideration of renewable energy in the design is desirable as the new façades should be able to generate and even store renewable energy.

Dr. Aminallah Pourasghar
Dr. Ameneh Sheikhjafari
Dr. Wenzhi Yang
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Buildings 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 2600 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.