ABSTRACT
The saying “beauty is only skin deep” holds true when examining the design of the façade of a building. In an age when Artificial Intelligence Tools are sweeping the design world, enabling the creation of stunning images of buildings, it becomes increasingly critical to help students to focus on the high level of detailing and serious critical thought that is required to substantiate the real “technical design” of the building envelope.
This paper will examine the use of student case study explorations into a series of significant building envelope failures as part of a second year Architectural Engineering design studio that culminates with an envelope design project. The project requires students to address performance and aesthetics. The paper will highlight the significance that shifts in aesthetically driven preferences combined with technological and performance changes have had on the prevalence of envelope failures. Ultimately this will highlight the value of learning from failure, to develop critical thinking, as a more expeditious means to achieve better envelope design.
These case studies will reinforce that climate needs to be accounted for when designing envelopes.
