Advanced Technologies for Net Zero and Climate-Adapted Buildings
A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2027 | Viewed by 50
Editors
Interests: bioclimatic architecture; building energy retrofit; near zero energy buildings (NZEB); heritage buildings; passive design; sustainable architecture; building energy simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: architecture; construction; sustainability; interdisciplinary design; parametric design; energy saving
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: building physics; environmental comfort; building energy models (BEM); building energy simulation (BES); Internet of Things (IoT); digital twins (BEM + BES + IoT); artificial intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The built environment accounts for a substantial share of global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, while simultaneously facing accelerating exposure to climate-driven hazards including heat stress, flooding, and urban overheating. Meeting net zero targets and ensuring long-term climate resilience are not independent objectives; they require coordinated technological responses across the full building lifecycle, from early design through retrofit and operation.
Advanced technologies are reshaping this design space. Computational tools including building energy modelling, machine learning, and digital twins now enable high-resolution analysis of energy flows, microclimatic conditions, and occupant behaviour under projected future scenarios. At the material and system level, smart and adaptive components such as phase-change materials, thermochromic coatings, and dynamic facade systems allow buildings to respond dynamically to environmental inputs, reducing both energy demand and thermal risk.
This Special Issue invites original research on technologies that advance net zero performance and climate adaptation in buildings. Topics of interest include energy modelling under future climate scenarios, AI-assisted design and optimisation, passive and active adaptive systems, bioclimatic strategies at building and urban scales, smart and responsive materials, and performance monitoring and verification methods. Contributions addressing both new construction and the existing building stock are welcome.
Dr. Carlos C. Duarte
Dr. Anna Stefańska
Dr. Nuno D. Cortiços
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-anonymized 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.
Keywords
- net zero buildings
- climate adaptation
- building energy simulation
- material technology
- adaptive building envelopes
- artificial intelligence
- advanced active systems
- building resilience
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