The Power of Transformation: Modifying Colour and Geometry as the Primary Means of Transforming Existing Building Envelopes

Transformation of the built environment in Denmark is estimated to become 51% of the total building activities in the future in order to accommodate new energy targets, a general population move to the city and to maintain buildings, which otherwise presents high architectural qualities. This points to the need of new ideas, methods and models for architects to transform existing building envelopes beyond the current primary approach of simply adding and external insulation layer. The research studies and present thermal simulation methods, models, elementary design studies and applied design approaches to envelope transformations based on modifying colours and local geometries of an envelope. The study finds that colour can be used instrumentally as a design variable to control external surface heat accumulation and envelope heat transfer, whereas local geometric variations only present negligible energy performances.