From the Smart to the Intelligent Building: Data-Driven Architectural Design to Reconcile Building Efficiency and Inhabitant Well-Being

Dear Colleagues,

The environmental impacts of the construction sector on the one hand and the poor energy efficiency of building envelopes on the other can together contribute negatively to climate change from year to year.  Buildings consume large amounts of resources and energy during both the production and use phases and generate large amounts of waste that are often difficult to recycle. The European Union is increasingly pushing for the implementation of environmental efficiency in the sector both in terms of circular economy and smart materials.  At the same time, the scientific community has for years been conducting research and experimentation on adaptive building envelopes, understood as an increasingly high-performance "frontier" between interior and exterior, capable of adapting and changing according to environmental boundary conditions. Similarly, Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is described as a situation in which the inhabitants of a building manifest discomfort caused by the poor indoor environmental quality of buildings and materials. Thus, at the scale of the building envelope and indoor environment, both the challenge of energy and environmental efficiency of buildings and the well-being of inhabitants are at stake. Indeed, although the role played by the building envelope on the quality of the indoor environment is clear, the effects of the created microclimate on the well-being of inhabitants have not yet been sufficiently explored. This calls for more and more studies and research to define the correct interaction between indoor environmental quality parameters and building material characteristics: to be observed in building design to ensure adequate comfort conditions and eliminate environment-related pathologies for inhabitants.  These are therefore scientific and technological challenges involving environmental and at the same time social sustainability goals.

This calls for more and more studies and research in defining the correct parameters of indoor air quality to be observed in the design of buildings to ensure proper comfort conditions and eliminate environment-related pathologies for inhabitants. So at the scale of the building envelope and the indoor environment, both the challenge of energy and environmental efficiency of buildings and the well-being of inhabitants are at stake. Thus, these are scientific and technological challenges involving environmental and at the same time social sustainability goals. However, at present, although the role played by the building envelope on indoor environmental quality is clear, the effects of the created microclimate on the well-being of inhabitants have not yet been sufficiently explored.

This Special Issue aims to fill that gap in the field literature that precisely calls for further studies and analysis on building-human interaction in indoor living environments. To this end, both theoretical contributions and empirical studies exploring the potential of digital technologies to develop simulation and regulation models of indoor microclimates aimed at maximizing the well-being of users of new and preexisting building spaces, also historic, are welcome. In addition, this Special Issue aims to demonstrate how data-driven architectural design of new buildings, refurbishment of existing ones and restoration of historic buildings can contribute to improved performance in environmental, social, economic and technological sustainability. Finally, studies that explore the relationship between building materials and building performance in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Antonello Monsù Scolaro
Dr. Davide Settembre-Blundo
Prof. Dr. Fernando Enrique García-Muiña
Dr. Maria Pia Riccardi
Guest Editors

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• smart building
• intelligent building
• building efficiency
• data-driven design
• inhabitant well-being
• environment impact
• social impact
• smart heritage