احمد اخلاقی

Novel viewpoints see the façade as a multi-functional component that should simultaneously meet functional and aesthetic requirements. These requirements need to be evaluated using a state-of-the-art approach. Although façade performance assessments are seen in the literature, studies that investigate the aesthetics and performance of façades rarely can be found together. Reviewing the approaches, methodologies, and criteria utilized to assess façades can draw a vision of the background for those who intend to develop a method for façade evaluation based on a novel perspective. This study aims to investigate recent research to discover approaches to façades. An exploratory case study methodology was applied to implement this aim, while the data collection method was library-based. Content analysis was employed via logical reasoning to determine the approaches, methods, and criteria of façade evaluations. Also, open and axial coding was used to organize the criteria extracted. The found approaches were "sustainability," "buildability," "life cycle assessment," "competing objectives," "performance," and "general," while the most frequent ones were "performance" and "sustainability" after "general." Previous façade-focused research methodologies were concentrated on five methodologies: multicriteria decision-making (MCDM), simulation, optimization, library-based, and hybrid. The most popular method was MCDM. Extraction of criteria demonstrated that "Costs," "Thermal performance," “Environmental impacts,” and “Durability” are respectively the trend ones with the highest frequency of presentation. To conclude, the façade as a multi-functional element needs to be assessed with state-of-the-art methods that consider all the required functions of a façade, including aesthetics. In contrast, Conventional methods cannot provide such a service.