Smart Skin for Zero Energy Buildings: A Review of Thermoresponsive Spectral‐Adaptive Envelopes (Adv. Mater. 3/2026)

Smart Skin for Zero Energy Buildings In their Review (DOI: 10.1002/adma.202511392), Sai Liu, Shi-Jie Cao, and co-workers explore the vision of smart skin for zero energy buildings, where the building envelope acts like a living skin—able to sense temperature shifts and adaptively regulate solar light and thermal radiation. Focusing on smart windows and radiative coatings, the review highlights material innovations, spectral mechanisms, and integration strategies that enable this skin-like responsiveness, while pointing to challenges of durability, scalability, comfort-centered design, and other critical factors in shaping the next generation of climate-responsive architecture.