A major objective in the design and operation of buildings is to maintain occupant comfort without incurring significant energy use. Particularly in narrower-plan buildings, the thermophysical properties and behaviour of their façades are often an important determinant of internal conditions. Building facades have been, and are being, developed to adapt their heat and mass transfer characteristics to changes in weather conditions, number of occupants and occupant’s requirements and preferences. Both the wall and window elements of a facade can be engineered to (i) harness solar energy for photovoltaic electricity generation, heating, inducing ventilation and daylighting (ii) provide varying levels of thermal insulation and (iii) store energy. As an adaptive façade may need to provide each attribute to differing extents at particular times, achieving their optimal performance requires effective control.

This paper reviews key aspects of current and emerging adaptive façade technologies. These include (i) mechanisms and technologies used to regulate heat and mass transfer flows, daylight, electricity and heat generation (ii) effectiveness and responsiveness of adaptive façades, (iii) appropriate control algorithms for adaptive facades and (iv) sensor information required for façade adaptations to maintain desired occupants’ comfort levels while minimising the energy use.

建筑物设计和运行的主要目标是在不引起大量能源消耗的情况下保持居住者的舒适感。特别是在较狭窄平面的建筑物中，其外墙的热物理性质和行为通常是内部条件的重要决定因素。已经并且正在开发建筑立面，以使其热和质量传递特性适应天气条件，居住人数以及居住者的要求和喜好的变化。可以将立面的墙和窗元素都设计为（i）利用太阳能来进行光伏发电，加热，诱导通风和采光（ii）提供不同级别的隔热和（iii）储能。由于适应性外观可能需要在特定时间以不同程度提供每个属性，

本文回顾了当前和新兴的自适应立面技术的关键方面。其中包括（i）用于调节热量和质量传递流量，日光，电力和热量产生的机制和技术（ii）自适应立面的有效性和响应性，（iii）自适应立面的适当控制算法，以及（iv）外墙改建可保持所需乘员的舒适度，同时将能源消耗降至最低。