The Next Era of Facades
Our Executive Director Petros Karatzas is hosted in the October – December 2025 edition of Window & Facades magazine of WFM Media. Petros’ article is featured -along with other notable facade engineering experts- in a wider discussion about Intelligent and Responsive Design for the Next Era of Facades. Full article is also available in the following link https://wfmmedia.com/magazine/window-facade-magazine-global-october-december-2025/ as well as to our official LinkedIn company page. Our thanks to Shefali Bisht, Associate Editor for F&F Media and Publications for her kind collaboration. WFM Media: How do you see building facades evolving over the next decade, especially with rapid advances in materials and technology. Petros: When I look ahead at how building facades will evolve over the next decade, I’m both optimistic and realistic. Our industry often talks about revolutionary change, like materials that will solve everything, technologies that will transform the way buildings behave, but in practice, progress tends to move slower than the headlines suggest. And I don’t say that as a limitation but it’s simply the nature of an industry where safety, durability, and long-term performance matter more than speed. If we just look at how other industries, like transportation or telecommunications have evolved the last 20-30 years, we understand that construction industry moves at a slower pace. What I do expect is probably a steady but meaningful shift toward facades that are more intelligent and more responsible. We will continue to see incremental advances in materials such as glazing that performs better, composites that are lighter, coatings that last longer, and these improvements, though usually not dramatic, have a cumulative impact that is often underestimated. The real change will come from how these materials are combined with digital tools. The integration of sensors, automation, and data-driven design can help facades to respond more intuitively to their environment, improving comfort and efficiency without drawing attention to the technology behind the scenes. I also believe manufacturing and construction processes will become more refined. Prefabrication, better coordination through BIM, and more precise quality control will gradually reshape how facades are delivered. These shifts might not be as visible as new materials, but they can significantly improve performance and reduce waste—two priorities our industry can no longer ignore. WFM Media: What emerging facade innovations excite you the most, and why do you think will make a real difference to future buildings. Petros: When I think about facade innovations that excite me, I tend to focus less on the “headline technologies” and more on the developments that can have a positive impact on our everyday practice. Our industry doesn’t change overnight, so the innovations that matter the most are probably the ones that can actually be adopted at scale and not just admired in prototypes. An area I find particularly interesting is the quiet progress happening in high-performance glazing and coatings. We see developments in materials that manage heat and light much more intelligently, like glass that can reduce solar gain without darkening the space or blocking views, and coatings that maintain their performance longer in harsh climates. I know these sound like incremental improvements, but in facades, these incremental improvements across millions of square meters can have a massive impact. I am also encouraged by the evolution of prefabricated and unitized facade systems. The precision and quality that can be achieved in controlled manufacturing environments is impressive, and it opens the door to more predictable performance, faster installation, and less waste. This is one of those areas where innovation doesn’t have to be flashy to be transformative. What excites me most is the combination of these ideas: better materials, smarter systems, and more precise delivery methods. Individually their impact might not be great but the combination of these can improve the entire lifecycle of the building in a grounded and practical way that I believe the industry is ready for. WFM Media: Sustainability is becoming essential rather than optional. How can future facades contribute meaningfully to energy efficiency and climate-responsive design. Petros: When we talk about sustainability in facades, the simplest way is to repeat the same phrases about responsibility and climate goals. But reality is, as always, more complex. In practice, sustainability goals often contrast with commercial pressures, and many decisions are naturally driven by profit rather than performance. I think it’s important to acknowledge that openly, because pretending otherwise doesn’t help the industry move forward. A good example is something we all face at some point: what are we doing when the highest energy-consumption orientation of a building also offers the best view, and therefore the highest commercial value? The sustainable solution might be to reduce glazing, add shading, or rethink the massing, but the financial argument pushes in the opposite direction. In these cases, there is no perfect answer; there is only a careful balancing solution. This is where I believe facade design can make a meaningful difference, not by insisting on idealistic solutions that won’t be accepted by the investors, but by finding smart ways to reconcile competing priorities. If a fully glazed facade is commercially essential, then the design has to compensate through better glass selection, improved insulation, intelligent shading, or to integrate other passive strategies elsewhere in the building. The goal becomes minimizing the impact rather than eliminating it, because eliminating it may simply not be applicable. We should also recognize that sustainability often fails not because of a lack of knowledge, but because the long-term benefits rarely align with short-term financial models. Energy savings accrue over years, while construction costs appear upfront. Until those two timelines are better aligned, the tension remains. Still, facade designers can do a lot even within these constraints. They can reduce operational energy demand through considered design. They can lower embodied carbon through smarter material choices. They can maintain high performance over time through monitoring and early maintenance. And importantly, they can help clients understand that a more efficient facade is not just an environmental decision but it also reduces risk, improves comfort, and ultimately supports the building’s
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