Factors affecting the design and development of responsive facades: a historical evolution

ABSTRACT A responsive facade system is considered a major component of high-performance building envelope that is capable of responding to environmental stimuli and aims to improve occupants’ comforts and energy consumption. While building design-related research have addressed the technical and design aspects of responsive facades, very limited historical studies have been conducted on the evolution of such systems. This paper investigates and classifies in a chronological manner the historical factors involved in the evolution of design and development of responsive facade systems. The influential factors are classified into a set of sociocultural, technological, political, environmental and economic factors originating from revolutionary changes in art, technology and building construction since late nineteenth century. The historical timeline presented is intended to serve as a helpful resource for researchers and educators in research and teaching activities. The formulated timeline can be utilized to track the pattern of current developments and predict what might be expected in the future. While the focus of the paper is on individual architecture, the trend of the recent facade developments as presented in the timeline suggests that responsive facades will be possibly implemented for urban-scaled development of smart neighborhoods and/or cities in the future.