Embracing Local Biodiversity in Sustainable High-Rise Facades in Subtropical China

This paper extends the current focus in sustainable building design on aspects of building technology such as assessment of carbon emissions, embodied carbon or energy expenditure by including concerns of human inhabitants as well as ecological aspects. Sustainable design schemes increasingly feature green elements on and around buildings, including green roofs and green facades. While their benefits are recognized from a technical perspective, such as the regulation of air quality and reduction of noise as well as the reduction of building energy expenditure, the ecological aspects of such facades have not received much attention yet beyond a few case study buildings. In contrast, the potential contributions green building features can make to local biodiversity, urban ecological contexts and human well-being are not yet widely embraced. This paper discusses façade systems integrating green features for ecological as well as energy and carbon emission benefits alongside other sustainable design technologies, with a focus on the subtropical climate regions of china. We argue that successful façade design needs to address three aspects that remain understudied in recent literature: the capability of architectural facades to adapt to the human need to connect to exterior environments, to perform a host role for locally specific ecology and biodiversity and the role of local climate and urban context in comprehensive future façade design. To this end, the paper presents a cross-disciplinary, eco-systemic analysis of a building case study located in Shenzhen, china which was completed in early 2022. A discussion of design principles employed in the case study is complemented with a biodiversity analysis and proposals for alternative design approaches for ecological façade features.