Advances in Carbon Neutrality and Renewable Energy Integration in Architecture

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to present the most recent advances in and current discussions on carbon neutrality in architecture as well as the integration of renewable energy technologies in buildings. Considering the high contribution of building industry to global emissions, architects, engineers, developers and all related stakeholders must adopt innovative design and implementation methods that combine building affordability with high performance and replicability. Therefore, the main purpose of this Special Issue is to provide references and tools to help disseminate carbon-neutral strategies and applications in the built environment. The topics include passive design strategies to maximize occupants’ comfort in buildings with the lowest energy demand; the innovative use of low-carbon-embodied materials; methods to guide and assess carbon neutrality in building design and management; novel technologies for the integration of photovoltaic cells and other renewable energy sources into buildings; profitability and social acceptance studies of carbon-neutral buildings; the influence of green rating systems on promoting zero-energy and carbon-neutral buildings, among others. Papers dealing with the building scale are preferred, but those within the scope of the interphase between the building scale and the urban block and neighborhood scales are also encouraged.

This Special Issue (SI) calls for papers that reflect upon the advances in the integration of carbon-neutral strategies and renewable energy in architecture: from building conceptualization and design to building construction and operation.

With more than half of the world population living in cities and the building sector being responsible for more than 40% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, efforts made by architects, engineers, developers and policy makers to reduce the carbon footprint in the built environment are not only welcome but also crucial to achieve global decarbonization goals and sustainability.

The literature on how to achieve carbon-neutral architecture and the assessment of built examples are plenty but not sufficiently convincing to accelerate the implementation of more ambitious programs on zero-energy/carbon-neutral buildings and urban developments. The economic factor is one of the obstacles to such goals, but more important is the insufficient dissemination of knowledge and know-how in architectural schools and industry and among policy makers. Therefore, this Special Issue also aims to provide updated information and tools to achieve the optimal combinations of passive strategies and active system implementations that can drastically reduce the energy demand of buildings, and therefore, by reducing the costs of clean energy systems’ integration into buildings, they can enhance building affordability and replicability.

Important aspects to be considered in the design process itself and the tools facilitating the achievement of carbon-neutral architecture, taking into account the contribution of every step of the building life cycle towards GHG emissions, are social and economic aspects. The quality of design methods adapted in all scales of intervention and budgets, the prioritization of passive design strategies over electro/mechanical systems and the efficiency of communication platforms among all stakeholders crucially determine whether the final design achieves sustainability goals such as net-zero energy or a carbon-neutral building.

We invite abstracts reflecting on these issues and on the topics listed below within the scope of the building scale and its interphase with the urban block and neighborhood scales. Other topics contributing to the state of the art in the main research area of Carbon Neutrality and Renewable Energy Integration in Architecture to achieve sustainability are also welcome.

Main themes of the Special Issue:

1. Carbon-neutral building design strategies (passive and active);
2. Design methods for net-zero energy buildings/carbon-neutral buildings;
3. BIM, LCA and digital tools for the design and evaluation of carbon-neutral buildings;
4. Carbon neutrality and renewable energy in building performance rating certifications/labels/standards;
5. Evaluation/critical review of carbon-neutral buildings;
6. The role of industry and real estate agencies in promoting/discouraging carbon neutrality in the building sector;
7. Carbon neutrality in university programs and architecture schools’ curricula;
8. Integration of renewable energy technologies in building design;
9. Advances in developing envelope materials and technologies to achieve carbon neutrality;
10. Influence of social sustainability to achieve carbon neutrality;
11. Economic affordability and carbon-neutral buildings;
12. Building design and climate change challenges.

Dr. Abel Tablada
Dr. Vesna Kosorić
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. Sustainability 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.

• carbon-neutral buildings
• net-zero energy buildings
• BIPV
• renewable energy
• sustainable architecture
• building design
• architectural education
• BIM
• building performance simulation
• passive design strategies
• LCA
• green building rating tools
• building standards