magazine_ Interview
Intelligent disruption
Adaptive facades shaped by climate and performance.
What’s the present situation in construction?
Miren Juaristi Gutierrez: The building industry is facing current challenges which are mostly to do with energy, resource efficiency and reduction of carbon emissions. As the coordinator of a European Innovation Council’s Pathfinder project, called ZERAF, my team and I are working on proposing a disruptive façade technology that will change the paradigm of the construction industry. Until now, the approach to envisioning energy efficient strategies for buildings has been to insulate. This makes them air and heat tight so that you don’t have to use as much energy to heat them, and to minimize heat loss through the building envelopes. As a strategy this works to minimize the heating demand of buildings because with high levels of insulation you avoid losing heat and less energy is needed to heat up the interiors when outdoor conditions are cold and cloudy.
So, what’s the problem?
Juaristi: There are some issues, on the one hand, the materials themselves: vast amounts are needed to insulate the building stock and the insulation materials themselves have a high carbon footprint in general as they are not biobased. And this means a lot of material resources are needed to reach this energy efficiency. On the other hand, by insulating the buildings so much, we are creating new problems that don’t have anything to do with the heating demand. Namely, we cannot exploit the environmental conditions to heat the building spaces, for instance, when we have natural heat gains given by high solar radiation. Besides, the heat that is produced inside a building because of the occupant’s activities such as cooking, laundry, showering, this heat cannot be dissipated through an excessively insulated building envelope anymore. We are creating really overheated spaces and this is even more problematic because we are in a climate change scenario. Even speaking broadly about Europe, it has been the heating need that was predominant. And, although this need will persist, it’s decreasing.
“Until now, the approach to envisioning energy efficient strategies for buildings has been to insulate.”
Miren Juaristi Gutierrez
How do you begin to dismantle the paradigm of construction?
Juaristi: Based on preliminary research, insulating is not always the best strategy, I studied the opaque part of the building façade during my PhD – not the transparent parts like the windows, so no glass. I investigate how the opaque parts could act as insulators when needed and heat exchangers when this is beneficial. The point is to not have a static façade that always behaves the same anymore. We are creating intelligent façades that adapt to both the weather and environmental conditions outside, and the indoor conditions and user needs. I came to Eurac Research because here there are highly specialized laboratories that can characterize the thermal behavior of façades, which was what I needed for my research. Now, with my team, I am developing the first prototypes and testing that the façade technology was the technology that I originally envisioned. A façade that can act as an insulator some of the time and as a heat exchanger at other times “We are creating intelligent façades that adapt to both the weather and environmental conditions outside and the indoor conditions and user needs.”
“By insulating the buildings so much, we are creating new problems that don’t have anything to do with the heating demand.”
Miren Juaristi Gutierrez
What does it take to make adaptive façades a reality today?
Juaristi: The team I work with at Eurac Research are specialized in the development of control algorithms and performance characterization of transparent adaptive façades. Based on this, I was able to put together an already experienced team for the project. In addition, I am working with another two startups, one is bringing in a new material – a bio-polyurethane, so that the insulating part of the system we are proposing comes from a sustainable source. The ‘other’ startup is working with shape memory alloys, which is a smart material that allows the adaptiveness of our technology. ZERAF has already been successfully validated at laboratory scale in Eurac Research’s labs, proving that its adaptive façade concept and core technologies work in practice. Patents have been filed to protect the innovation, laying the groundwork for future market deployment and the ambition to establish a dedicated spin-off.
“We are creating intelligent façades that adapt to both the weather and environmental conditions outside, and the indoor conditions and user needs.”
Miren Juaristi Gutierrez
The team is currently exploring how ZERAF performs across different building types and climate conditions, with a strong focus on reducing energy demand and carbon emissions. In parallel, the first steps toward real-world implementation are underway – from safety testing (including fire performance) to building industrial partnerships and preparing the technology for scaling and market readiness.
Project ZERAF
Klimahouse
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