Adaptive building envelopes can provide improvements in the building energy efficiency and economics, through their capability to change their behaviour in real time according to indoor-outdoor parameters, by means of materials, components and systems. Therefore, adaptive façades can make a significant and viable contribution to meeting the EU´s 2020 targets. Several different types of adaptive façade concepts have already been developed, and an increase in emerging, innovative solutions is

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... cted for the near future. The objective of this paper is to contribute to these developments by presenting the findings of an analysis of the existing concepts and case studies and by proposing a new approach for characterization of these elements.