Building Envelope as Surface

The building envelope occupies a special position within the strategies of sustainable design. It is not only the primary building element that is exposed directly to weathering, but also a crucial part of architectural design that determines the formal qualities of the building. In the Vitruvian triptych, the building envelope contributes more to the venustas or to the delight in the building’s beauty than others. The building envelope is also expected to help regulate the climatic, thermal fluctuations of the building. Therefore, the development of building envelopes has focused on the combination of both the climatic appropriateness and the affectation of a given building. The building envelope is expected to shelter and preserve the interior conditions and to express an aesthetic intent at the same time. This chapter, presented in three parts, will establish a conceptual framework for the design of building envelopes in the context of thoughts on sustainable design. First, we will trace key historical ideas and developments in order to clearly establish what a building envelope is, and how it has been conceived. Within these discussions, we will summarize three main aspects that the building envelope is designed to address: functional, technical and energetic. We will conclude the first part by discussing the pronounced features of three exemplary architectural models as they relate to building envelopes, namely, the modernist, Venturian and biomimetic models. In the second part of this chapter, we will explore the notion of surface. We will speculate on what could be derived from this notion in relation to building envelopes, and in relation to sustainable thinking at large. This discussion will include the notions of surface proposed by Avrum Stroll and James J. Gibson, and drawing from their theories, we will formulate the idea of the building envelope as surface. In the third part, we will explore mimesis – as applied for example to the term biomimetics – as one of the key propositions in today’s environmental awareness, that is, how we learn from the dynamic conditions of natural, living organisms. Here, the primary intent is to reevaluate and critique the current practice of biomimetic approaches in architecture. We will attempt to construct, by drawing from the theories of Jacque Derrida and Hans-Georg Gadamer, a perspective of mimesis pertaining to architecture as a kind of relationship to nature. In consideration of the discussions made throughout this chapter, the conclusion will offer a view to a particular conceptual framework, one that contributes to the design of building envelopes in the context of sustainable design. The intent is to move away from a mechanistic view of sustainable design, and to approach it in a manner where sustainability emerges as a condition rather than as an object. We believe that today, the prevailing view of sustainable design consists of various prescriptive components without offering a comprehensive discourse. Such a discourse should include the very basic, underlying composition of our relationship to the natural and living environments. The building envelope as surface provides a key component of that relationship.