Professional Documents
Culture Documents
net/publication/309564158
CITATIONS READS
4 1,926
2 authors:
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
All content following this page was uploaded by Miren Juaristi on 31 October 2016.
Abstract
Adaptive façades have emerged strongly in extreme climate countries, as their behaviour contributes to
optimize the energy efficiency of buildings and the well-being of the occupants. Its development in temperate
climates could contribute to the achievement of European environmental objectives for 2020 and 2050.
These will only be obtained if occupants accept and know how to use buildings, hence the need for in-use
assessments of buildings, especially of the most innovative ones. In the literature review, very few post-
occupational evaluations or assessments of Adaptive Façades have been found, even less in temperate
climates, where the façade must adapt to varied conditions at a short time scale. This article shows the Case
Study of an office building, the Media-TIC, located in Barcelona (Spain), which has a Mediterranean Climate
with mild winters and warm summers. Media-TIC has two different Adaptive Facades facing southeast and
southwest, and the innovative technology consists on inflatable sheets and cushions made of ETFE
(Ethylene Tetrafluor Ethylene). The study was conducted with a small sample of occupants distributed in
different floors and orientations of the building. The behaviour of the Adaptive Façades, the occupants’
acceptance in respect to the innovative system and the possibilities for its improvement were analysed.
Keywords: Inflatable ETFE sheets, In-use assessment, Survey of occupants satisfaction
1. Introduction
1.1 Adaptive building skins
Energy demand in buildings has to be reduced as it is established by European environmental objectives by
2020 and 2050. Nowadays, in Europe a third part of the end-user energy is consumed by HVAC and lighting
systems of the buildings. Development of buildings envelopes is needed to reduce that demand in 13% for
the first stage, 2020, and 71% for the second one, 2050. Even if façade and skins play a key role in energy
sustainability targets, architectonic qualities and users comfort and wellbeing cannot be replaced for only
efficient machinery obviating occupants’ well-being. This is why post-occupational evaluations are needed to
ensure that new innovative systems have social acceptation, and their performance is as designed and
simulated. Emerging adaptive façades are one of these innovations systems. They consist on highly
multifunctional and changeable systems that behave depending on interior and exterior conditions
contributing to high levels of occupant’s satisfaction. Adaptiveness can be seasonal, daily or even each
minute. It can be self-adaptive, because the façade is developed with smart materials, or has active controls
with automatic systems [1].
The adaptive building skins concept cannot be considered mature. Even as several subsystems and
components have been developed these last years and some prototypes have been built, only a few built
examples were found with climate adaptive building shells [2] and only a low percentage of them belong to
temperate climates. The assessed building in this research is one of them: the Media-TIC building, known
now as the Barcelona Growth Centre, and located in Barcelona (Spain).
The assessments related with these technologies are even fewer. Some studies about optimization of
primary energy for the development of this technology were made, especially in glazed façades with different
reaction times for an office building case study like Favoino et al research [3]. Mock-ups, prototypes and/or
experiments were also made to measure both the performance and the users´ satisfaction with dynamic
façade, as Karlsen et al research [4] or Favoino et al research [5]. Questionnaires according to the
evaluation of an adaptive facade in different scenarios in a full-scale test room where made by Bakker et al
[6], who conclude that most users had a good experience with the dynamic façade, and having more control
is a “basic requirement for enabling successful operation of CABS” (CABS: Climate Adaptive Building
Shells). In this research, no clear link between automated façade operation and discomfort was found,
although other authors have found evidences about this [2]. A comprehensive initial review about adaptive
facades system assessment was made by Attia et al [7]
We could not find any evaluation of comfort level in a building composed by adaptive façades in a temperate
climate. A post occupational assessment of Media-TIC building is done to evaluate its performance and the
perception of the users. The results are compared with design estimations of the project [8, 9], and also
those summarized by Colturi´s research [10] in order to draw conclusions.
Figure 4: Media-TIC, Barcelona. Sixth Floor: Figure 3: Media-TIC, Barcelona. Second Floor:
Flexible-opened area enables the rental and Start-up offices as flexible “boxes”.
easy disposition of offices.
Figure 5: The cushions generate shade when they are deflated. The pneumatic system allows light to go in
the building changing the pressure of air in the chamber.
- C. Behaviour of the adaptive façade in winter: question about what element of their façade is
adaptive (to know if the occupants know the special characteristics of it), comfortability or level of
satisfaction with it, causes of the discomfort related to adaptive facades in case they exist, devices
that they can control manually (curtains, blinds, thermostat, windows openings, etc.) including the
necessity of extra personal devices and if occupants would like that some manual devices existent in
the building were adaptive.
- D. Thermal and lighting comfort in summer: the same than B but for summer conditions.
- E. Behaviour of the adaptive façade in summer: the same than C but for summer conditions.
3.2 Studio
In total, 19 test subjects (9male, 10 female) have participated in the assessment. Most of the participants
were between the ages of 25-50 years, and filing-seated (supposed 1,2met) was the main working position.
All the subjects knew the building because they work there regularly. The schedule of the occupants work is
flexible, being the entrance between 8-10h and the exit between 15-19h.
As most studies based on surveys, they are very difficult to obtain, because in general people do not like to
participate in these studies and the access to the offices in Media-TIC building is not allowed to people that
do not work there. It is remarkable that the answers are distributed throughout the building (Fig.9); from
ground floor to eighth floor, there is at least one answer per floor, except from the ninth floor. 45% of them
are located close to an adaptive façade, and there are also responses of people that are located close to the
patio (west), curtain wall (east), and the service area.
Figure 9: Location of subjects surveyed. In total 19 questionnaires were answered over the whole building
(note: the subjects who are not situated on the floors, respond to the uncertainty in the answers)
4. Discussion
4.1 Measuring comfort level: complexity of assessment methods
Both in summer and winter charts, the heterogeneous results are evident. Post-occupational assessment
does not only evaluate objective data to verify if the building works in the expected way, it also assumes the
complexity of each user asking about their sensation and satisfaction with thermal and lighting comfort.
The need of POE is evident to recalibrate buildings systems and help clarify evident disturbances. In this
assessment, for example, the glare problem was evident according to the responses.
5. Conclusions
This post occupancy assessment analyses human factors that indicate the comfort level of building users.
There is a clear thermal and lighting dissatisfaction, although not all of it can be associated to the adaptive
façade. Most of the occupants are open to innovative systems but they would not renounce completely to
manual control. The presence and use of interior curtains or the appreciation of the thermostat, demonstrate
it. On the other hand, the two EFTE skin systems designed for this building were developed to solve lighting
problems without renouncing to transparency. There are still some lighting problems, as glare, associated to
these façades, but they could be easily recalibrated. Cushions with individual sensors and CPU could help
on that.
It seems logical to establish a dialog between users and the designing team when you test a unique, new
system. Both users and technicians need to understand the complexity and its real function to ensure a
successful performance. Human complexity is not easily predictable, so a POE would help to calibrate the
system. In addition, users´ implication always helps in a responsible building use. Understanding the building
would avoid, for example, the uncontrolled compartmentalisation of the building that disables the holistic
performance of heating, cooling and lighting.
More research in product development and post occupancy assessments in buildings are needed to answer
for the complexity of office buildings in temperate climates, especially with adaptive facades, if we have to
achieve low energy buildings and occupants comfort as some of the main goals of responsible buildings.
6. Acknowledgments
We would like to thank María Martinez Ruidiaz and Rita Riba Estape, and all the occupants of Media-TIC
building that have kindly accessed to participate in the study.
In addition, the authors would like to gratefully acknowledge COST Action TU1403 “Adaptive Facades
Network” for providing excellent research networking.