Identification and selection of building façade's smart materials according to sustainable development goals

Elsevier, Sustainable Materials and Technologies, Volume 26, December 2020
Authors: 
Balali A., Valipour A.
Buildings consume vast amounts of energy and pollute the environment in various ways. Façade is a part of building's architecture that can play a significant role in reducing energy consumption, as well as alleviating its negative environmental effects. Although using smart materials in buildings' facades can help dramatically to attain the mentioned goals, very limited studies have been conducted regarding the mentioned issues. Moreover, existing studies have investigated only a few number of smart materials simultaneously. Therefore, this research aims to conduct a wider study, identify and prioritize the most suitable building façade's smart materials according to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Shiraz, Iran. Friedman test and Analytical Hierarchy Analysis (AHP) were used to analyse data using SPSS and Expert Choice software, respectively. Produced results illustrated that “Photovoltaic materials”, “Thermochromic materials” and “Photostrictive materials” were the best alternatives for using in building's façade. Results obtained by this research can help the building industry to move through sustainability.