Sustainability assessment of smart materials in buildings

Smart materials are discussed in architecture to transfer the state-of-the-art technology and expand the horizon of building performance. Although the effects of smart material applications in building design are discussed in literature and publications from the context of an autonomous responsive system and an environment-control device, the notion of sustainability assessment of smart materials is not comprehensively discussed yet. Researches on the energy simulation, life cycle cost assessment, thermal behavior evaluation, and daylight assessment have been developed for some specific materials. However, the sustainable performance of building is evaluated with criteria of region-based building sustainability assessment tools. Although smart materials in building may contribute to energy demand reduction and be considered as innovative technology with multiple values, currently available sustainability assessment tools would not allow the adequate evaluation of smart materials in buildings. Therefore, this research reviews the possibility to evaluate smart materials in major sustainability assessment tools – BREEAM, LEED, and CASBEE and proposes the assessment criteria to embrace a smart material application in architecture as an opportunistic smart approach toward sustainability of buildings.