Publication in the specialized journal “Fassade / Façade“
Advanced Active Façade © EPFL / LAST
The Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) was invited to present in the specialized journal “Fassade / Façade” the constructive system "Advanced Active Façade", resulting from a research project on low-carbon active residential facades.
The integration of photovoltaic systems on the building envelope (BIPV) is an effective principle to increase the production of renewable energy in the urban context. It is in this context that an interdisciplinary research was carried out within the research project "PV 2050" developed as part of the framework of the National Research Program “Energy Turnaround” (NRP 70) of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
The research project focused on integrating BIPV's expressive issues into the architectural design of residential façades. The result is the “Advanced Active Façade” (AAF) concept developed in collaboration with the Centre suisse d'électronique et de microtechnique (CSEM) based in Neuchâtel and the company H.Glass.
The approach takes into account particularly high requirements on energy consumption, photovoltaic energy production and carbon footprint, while integrating the expressive issues related to the BIPV from the early phases of the architectural project. At the same time, it facilitates architectural integration, a high degree of prefabrication of elements, low environmental impact, and efficiency in photovoltaic technology.
The approach also includes the production of a 1: 1 mock-up, which makes it possible to concretely present the specificities of the AAF constructive system and to illustrate explicitly the issues related to architectural integration.