Description of types of façade and the multi criteria analysis of materials, form and glass facades:

The building envelope is the physical interface between the indoor and outdoor environments of a
building, and it is responsible for much of the energy balance that occurs in the building. As a result, the
type of construction and used in the facade is a key factor in determining the energy performance of a
building and therefore its level of sustainability. For example, the extensive use of glass directly affects
the energy needs of the building and its level of internal thermal comfort. This condition is critical in
climates such as the Mediterranean climate that have high solar radiation with moderate temperature
winters and warm summers. In order to calculate the thermal load on buildings and, therefore, their
energy consumption, designers currently use computer programs to evaluate their energy efficiency.

Supplying natural light is another key factor in choosing a specific type of facade. The balance between
supplying light and reducing energy demand through properly controlling the solar gains is one of the
main issues addressed in the scientific literature.

These studies have concluded that since the energy demand of a space is affected by the internal loads
caused by both artificial lighting and the external load of solar radiation, energy demand must be
analyzed by accounting for the interaction between natural lighting and the air conditioning system.
However, another study concludes that an even broader approach is necessary, in which the air
conditioning, ventilation, lighting and acoustics need to be studied together.

The main aim of this article is to analyze the energy efficiency issues of actual buildings constructed in
Beirut by using simulation tools. The buildings were selected to analyze the most diverse types of
facades possible, of which the materials and construction details data were available, as well as the
associated construction costs, to perform comparisons. The comparative analysis allowed for
considering the most appropriate types of construction for each use and location to establish design
guidelines to achieve gradual improvement in energy efficiency and to serve as a support tool for future
decision making in the planning, design and rehabilitation of facades.

However, as products, buildings are special because they have a relatively long life, undergo changes,
especially office buildings, generally have multiple functions, contain many different components, are
produced locally, are normally unique, have a local impact, and are integrated with infrastructure and
their system boundaries are unclear. This means that a complete LCA study of a building is not a simple
process, as it is for many other products.

This study includes three facades of administrative use (office) buildings. In addition an effective tool for
evaluating environmental efficiency and subsequently the energy efficiency of a specific product is the
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This tool examines all of the material and energy inputs and outputs
throughout the product life cycle, from raw material extraction to final product disposal, including the
usage stage. This means that, to correctly evaluate the efficiency of a specific building, the steps in a LCA
study have to be followed.

The function of façade systems means to reduce environmental impacts on building functions as a
whole, and to control the flow of heat between the external environment and the internal environment
of the building.
Case studies:

CASE A. Structural glazing façade (reflective glass and uncolored glass)

This type of façade uses fixed laminated glass with structural silicone on aluminum columns and beams
that support the façades. . This is based on a separation using beams and/or parapets at least 1.2 m
high.

CASE B. Brick façade with mortar coating

For brick façades coated with mortar, two types of brickwork were included: concrete and ceramic
blocks .Additionally, both types of brickwork would be laid and coated externally with mortar made of
water, cement, hydrated lime and sand. Placement would have 10 mm of thickness, rough coat would
have 5 mm of thickness and level coat would have 25 mm of thickness.

Finally, both internal and external coatings must be painted. For the external painting, one coat of base,
one coat of acrylic sealant and two coats of white façade paint were used. For internal painting, one
coat of base, one coat of finishing plaster and two coats of white plaster paint were used. Therefore, for
brick façades, a window covered with a colorless floating glass was chosen, on each side of the façade,

CASE C. Brick façade with an aluminum composite panel covering

For the fixing and joint systems for these façade panels, the same metallic structural glazing was used,
but the glass panel was replaced with an ACM panel. This type of façade also includes vertical
compartmentalization and a brick structure behind the ACM panels. Furthermore, a wall of ceramic
bricks was included, laid using mortar and internally coated with plaster, using the same specifications
adopted for the brickwork system coated with mortar and painted. A window covered with a colorless
floating glass was also adopted, on each side of the façade.

In addition the following parameters were used to perform the analysis:

 Area of the openings compared to the total surface area of the façade (%)
 Mass per unit area of the opaque portion of the façade (kg/m2)
 Time constant h (indicative of the thermal inertia of the opaque facade)
 Heat transfer coefficient of the opaque portion Uo (W/m2K)
 Heat transfer coefficient of the glass Uv (W/m2K)
 Heat transfer coefficient of the frame Um (W/m2K)
 Heat transfer coefficient of the opening Uh (W/m2K)
 Overall heat transfer coefficient of the facade Ug (W/m2K)
 Solar factor (FS) of the glass FS (%)
 Overall solar factor of the facade FSg (%)
 Solar shields used

Sustainable criteria for façade material selection:

a- Environmental impacts :
 Embodied energy and carbon emission
Heating load
Cooling load
Resource sustainability
b- Life cycle costs :
Material cost
Labor cost
Transport cost
Maintenance cost
Design cost
c- Performance :
Weight
Thermal resistance
Acoustic insulation
Resistance to decay
d- Social benefits :
Aesthetics
Sustainability to location
Sustainability to climate

The environmental and economic impact of alternative façade system have been widely investigated in
previous studies

The sustainable design requires reconciliation between economic, environmental and social impacts.