The aim of the Building Envelope Design Lab is to provide knowledge and expertise to develop architectural surfaces from conceptual design to fabrication using advanced software and tools. Daylighting strategies are used to find envelopes able to cope with energy performance, users’ requirements and architectural integration.

The course is structured in three parts:

Daylighting and design of responsive skins lectures: lessons will be devoted to the analysis of case studies representing the behaviour of different façade typologies, focusing on geometries and movement, users’ behaviour, daylighting simulations and construction materials and technologies.

Seminars: special lectures will be carried out by academic and professional experts that works on the topic of building envelopes, biomimicry and fabrication techniques.

Student projects: the practical part of the course will be related to the development of a design concept for a building located in different places of the world. Tutors will assist students during all the process that leads from the design concept to the fabrication of a model at small scale, constructed within the laboratories of the Politecnico di Milano.