The Building Skin has evolved enormously over the past decades. Energy performance and environmental quality of buildings are significantly determined by the building envelope. The facade has experienced a change in its role as an adaptive climate control system that leverages the synergies between form, material, mechanical and energy systems in an integrated design.

The PowerSkin Conference aims to address the role of building skins to accomplish a carbon neutral building stock. Topics such as building operation, embodied energy, energy generation and storage in context of facades, structure and environment are considered.
Three main themes are showcased in presentations of recent scientific research and developments as well as projects related to building skins from the perspectives of material, technology and design:

• Environment - Facades or elements which aim for the provision of highly comfortable surroundings where environmental control strategies as well as energy generation and/or storage are integral part of an active skin.
• Facade Design - The building envelope as an interface for the interaction between indoor and outdoor environment. This topic is focused on function and energy performance, technical development and material properties.
• Facade Engineering - New concepts, accomplished projects, and visions for the interaction between building structure, envelope and energy technologies.

Powerskin Conference: Proceedings
Thomas Auer, Ulrich Knaack, Jens Schneider (Hg.)
ISBN: 978-9492516299