Climate-Adaptive Fa?ades: A Research On Multi-Skin Fa(?)ade System Suitable For HSCW Regions

The present work attempts to review building facade conditions and the elements that surround the building envelope. It goes further to investigate the facade conditions in climatic regions classified as Hot-summer and Cold-winter zones and the atypical characteristics of these HSCW areas which make the concept of facade designs a matter of complexity for such regions. It also presents and analyzes facade design ideas intended to adapt efficiently to the opposite climate requirements in buildings of this zone.The works is approached in two parts by combining study and likewise design-oriented ideas that seek to provide a quantitative knowledge readily applicable and interpretable from the perspective of architects and builders. On the one part the study focuses on facade design trends and bordering principles that surround modern innovations in facade designs. On the other hand, it approaches the idea of effective facade design for Hot-summer and Cold-winter (HSCW) regions, involving experimentation of the multi-skin facade systems and its performance in this region.The climate features in these Hot-summer and Cold-winter zones differ largely from each other and goes easily to extremes, particularly in the summer and winter seasons and the simply application of strategies practiced in the normally extreme cold climatic regions or the usually blazing hot climate regions will inevitably fail to effectively meet the arising opposite extreme requirements for this region. Previous Research had identified that the simple conditions of indoor space quality is mostly dependent on the external or exposed areas of the building envelope. With this in mind, this study investigates these extreme conditions in the manner they occur both from the indoor and outdoor perspective and introduces the Double-skin climate-adaptive facade that will function by optimizing the insulation needed for enhancing the indoor conditions in HSCW residential buildings hence optimizing the energy saving value in these zones.For the part of the experiments, the investigation was carried out using surface temperature evaluation models and apparatus to measure and calculate the outdoor and indoor conditions of building envelope (external walls) in conventional residential building facades and Glazed Double skin facade (DSF). Invariable, the investigation produced results that conform to the expected condition of extreme heat radiation during the summer times and likewise intense cold draught in the winter season. Wuhan city which is notable for its hot-summer and cold-winter conditions was used for the investigation. The Wuhan H1S6CW conditions were then tested on the Double-skin climate-adaptive facade (DSCAF) experiment model. Surface Thermal tests were done on the facade structure and its results were then used for comparative analysis with the conventional Wuhan residential facade and the conventional glazed Double-skin facade model. The tests and calculations were carried out for the hottest days (in August) when the thermal threshold of comfort in Wuhan is likely to be exceeded and also for the coldest days (in January), when the thermal threshold of comfort is likely not to be reached. The experiments utilized the surface temperature values of the facade interior and exterior surfaces, air temperature and air humidity values as prognostic parameters for evaluating the facade performance.Further calculations and simulations were performed using the PHOENICS-VR Environment in order to verify the results in a simulated environment. The concluding result demonstrates that the Double-skin climate-adaptive (DSCAF) facade (wall) design, functions like a barrier that traps excessive heat radiated through the facade in summer and utilizes the double layer to preserve the indoor warmth in winter. Finally, Design recommendations in the form of typology designs and optimization techniques were outlined for application and utilization of the Double-skin climate-adaptive facade design in residential building units within the hot-summer and cold-winter regions.