Application of smart materials in building facades for sustainable construction

The concept of sustainability is adapted to all professional fields by researchers as a response to the destructive effects of human activities on the natural environment. The population growth, the danger of energy resource depletion, and the economic recession seen after the world wars, which are the main problem of the Anthropocene Epoch that started with the Industrial Revolution, also have an inevitable place in architectural practice. Environmental, social, economic, cultural, and technological sustainability criteria have begun to play an active role in building design. These criteria create an understanding of sustainable construction focusing on compromising user comfort without risking the options of future generations. In line with the concept of sustainability, the term sustainable architecture has emerged in the architectural literature. Therefore, the means of stable construction that challenges the environmental conditions has left its place to the comprehension of construction that can meet the changing user needs and respond to environmental stimuli throughout the building life cycle. Facade systems, the building elements with the most energy loss/gain in buildings, have also changed and developed with the interpretation of sustainable construction. Sustainable design practices on building facades have increased through intelligent building systems and materials, which have become a significant agenda in architectural practice in line with technological developments. The thesis study aims to determine the importance of sustainable construction practices, sustainable facade designs, intelligent building systems, and intelligent materials used in the architectural sector by examining the examples selected from Turkey and the world and emphasizing their importance in terms of the sustainability of human generation.