Green Facades - Load Assumptions for Wind and Ice
The content on this page was translated automatically.
Wall-mounted green facades with supporting structures in front of them play an important role in regulating the climate of buildings and reducing urban heat islands. However, there has so far been a lack of appropriate normative guidelines for verifying structural stability under wind and ice loads to support their widespread use, particularly in existing buildings. The existing technical standards EN 1991-1-4 and EN 1991-1-9 do not account for the actual stresses experienced by green facades, meaning that either overly conservative load assumptions must be used or time-consuming, project-specific wind tunnel tests and expert reports are required. This increases risks and costs for all parties involved in construction and hinders widespread adoption.
The goal of the research project is to use experimental studies to determine the influence of green facades on wind loads acting on facade structures and to investigate the formation of atmospheric ice deposits as well as their interaction with wind loads. The relevant load mechanisms are recorded in full-scale tests and supplementary wind tunnel tests on scaled models. Based on climate data and field measurements on existing green facades, the probability of icing conditions occurring is also estimated.
The findings will be used to develop engineering models and design recommendations that enable the safe and reliable planning of green facades, thereby paving the way for a climate-friendly building culture.
Project partner: Institute for Steel Structures, Technical University of Braunschweig
Project duration: September 2026 – August 2029
Funding: “Zukunft Bau” Innovation Program of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs, and Spatial Development (BBSR) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development, and Construction (BMWSB)