| Project name | OpenFace / Micromaster |
|---|---|
| Acronym | OpenFace |
| Project partner |
|
| Grantor | Erasmus+ |
| Duration | 11.2023-01.2026 |
| Research Field |
I+I & E+E // M&M (E+E > Energy + Environment, I+I > Information + Intelligence M+M > Matter + Materials) |
| Project content |
The external envelope of a building, commonly referred to as the façade, includes all the external components that act as the main barrier between indoors and outdoors, therefore, it governs the functional performance and aesthetic impact of buildings. Façades have a high environmental and economic impact: they contribute 10-30% to GHG emissions and 30-40% of the building investment of new buildings and they are also major contributor to Indoor Environmental Quality and people well-being. Moreover, façades have a disproportionately high impact on the material consumption, waste generation and operational energy efficiency of buildings. Despite the key role of the façades, education in Façade Design and Engineering (FDE) is currently fragmented throughout Europe. Only a limited number of programs offer advanced education in FDE in few locations in Europe (less than 10). In addition, the successful design, construction and operations of resource-efficient and high-performance façades require integrated multi-disciplinary expertise across more fields (e.g. architecture, engineering, economics) and specific domain knowledge on local construction practices and supply chains. Ultimately, current FDE educational programs and expertise are not sufficiently connected and, therefore, cannot provide the required level of multi-disciplinary expertise. This is a barrier to the timely climate transition of the built environment, but it is already causing severe disparities in education access and FDE capacity across Europe. The goal of the project OpenFace is therefore to provide novel digital means for sharing and unifying current knowledge in FDE towards a material-efficient, climate-positive and user-centred Façade to engage graduate students and early-stage practitioners across Europe to deal with the topics of resource-efficient and user-centred Façade Design Engineering (FDE). The content will be prepared as digital open accessable online courses. |
