Materials and Technologies for Regenerative Built Environments

Dear Colleagues,

During recent years, the building sector has undergone a paradigm shift. The rise of environmental awareness has highlighted several problems regarding energy efficiency and environmental impacts. Thus, the sector is transitioning from a paradigm relying mainly on mechanical systems and high embodied energy materials and less concerned about the climate context and environmental impacts of buildings to a holistic (sustainable) approach. However, the concept “sustainable construction” is no longer sufficient. The most up-to-date challenges and goals require strategies and technologies for restoring and regenerating, thus promoting positive impacts that enable social and ecological systems to maintain a healthy state and to evolve. If sustainability is a complex and branchy tree, a regenerative approach is akin to adding the roots. Buildings are a key sector to implement regenerative criteria, since they represent one of the largest energy and natural resource consumers, responsible for a third of global carbon emissions and other potential life cycle environmental impacts.

Therefore, this Special Issue aims to gather and share the knowledge available on the aforementioned, with the goal of promoting regenerative buildings through integrated design, passive strategies, low-carbon technologies, and materials, among others. The Special Issue is open for papers addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Bioclimatic, climate-responsive, and passive design;
• Indoor environment quality (air quality and thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort);
• Active technologies for low-carbon and energy-efficient buildings and communities;
• Vernacular architecture and construction;
• Simulation for regenerative buildings and communities;
• Design and construction of low-carbon buildings;
• Low-carbon, low-tech, and regenerative materials;
• Innovative technologies for regenerative buildings;
• Tools and technologies for regenerative buildings (holistic design);
• Biophilic design;
• Policies and regulations for regenerative buildings.

Dr. Jorge Fernandes
Dr. Ricardo Mateus
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• regenerative design
• low carbon/regenerative materials
• life cycle assessment
• integrated design process
• regenerative construction policies
• human well-being and comfort
• water management
• urban and building energy performance simulation