Summary & results of 2023

It has been almost a year since the ZERAF project began, and the interdisciplinary research has yielded many results, including: 

• Conceptual designs for the ZERo-carbon building enabling Adaptive opaque Facade (ZERAF) technology have been developed. We now have a map of possible materials, geometries and configurations of ZERAF technology, which should provide a considerable range of adaptations. A life cycle analysis and preliminary cost analysis has been carried out on the mapped options to ensure sustainable and cost-effective technology. 
• Preliminary simulations at the building and component level are already enabling us to make design decisions about our technology. 
• The first prototype of SMA actuators have been built and tested! 
• A range of new bioPUR formulations have been developed and several samples of different densities and recycled content have been produced to test their thermal performance.  

2024 will be a key year for ZERAF. We will build several prototypes and plan to start testing them by the end of the year. The experimental tests will allow us to characterise the thermal behaviour of our adaptive opaque façade system. 

Thanks to the efforts of the whole ZERAF consortium. Let’s keep up the enthusiasm and hard work!