Main perceived barriers for the development of building service integrated facades: Results from an exploratory expert survey

Abstract The integration of decentralised building services into facade components presents advantages from functional and constructional standpoints. However, this integrated approach has not been massively implemented, having only stand-alone buildings and facade concepts as examples. This paper seeks to identify the main perceived problems at design, production and assembly stages of the facade development process, to generate new knowledge based on practical experience; and to discuss the perceived barriers to overcome in order to promote widespread building service integration in facade systems. The employed method was an exploratory survey addressed to professionals with practical experience in the development of facade systems for office buildings, situated at any stage of the process. The survey was conducted from mid-September to mid-November 2015 and was distributed both as an online form and in printed format among several professional and research networks related with facade design and construction. After the campaign, 133 questionnaires were received, comprising a final number of 79 valid questionnaires. Results show that the main problems of the overall process are related to coordination issues among different disciplines and stakeholders, while other problems such as costs and lack of knowledge have more impact on particular stages within the design and construction process.