The Facade Tectonics Institute (FTI) 2026 World Congress wrapped up four days in Pittsburgh with a clear signal: façades are being pushed beyond enclosure and toward active energy generation, according to a USGlass magazine report on the biennial event. The gathering featured factory tours, a robotics and construction workshop, networking events and more than two dozen academic sessions covering energy, circularity, bird-friendly glass, façade service life, thermal performance, Passive House retrofits and other topics. The final day of sessions offered several discussions on the ongoing research and development to turn facades into energy-generating components that help reduce energy consumption.
For Canadian glazing contractors and specifiers working within the National Building Code of Canada, CSA A440 and ENERGY STAR Canada, the research is an early read on where cladding and glass specifications could eventually point as net-zero targets tighten. None of the systems described at FTI is in the code today, but the component-level findings offer a preview of the performance conversations that could reach North American markets.
Thermoelectric integration: spandrel panels outrank window frames and vision glazing
Reshma Krishnan Madathil, an MSCA postdoctoral fellow at the University of Navarra in Spain, spoke about research that she and several academic peers at Navarra and the University of Utah are conducting to analyze the viability of thermoelectric (TE) technology embedded in buildings. While photovoltaic systems are not new, TE technology remains mostly experimental. It uses temperature differences to generate electricity or electrical current to provide heating and cooling, the report states.
When the Building Integrated Thermoelectric System (BITES) project team started thinking about integrating this technology into buildings, and after years of experience developing different kinds of prototypes and trying to identify their limitations, they identified a research gap: there is no comparative framework for integrating this kind of technology into different building-envelope components, the USGlass report notes. For example, when integrating TE technology into window frames, spandrel panels, transition zones and other components, these components have not been ranked for their suitability. The study proposed a hierarchical integration strategy to determine which building-envelope components are more compatible.
The research evaluated three component types:
- Window frames, which provide thermal break cavities (15–25 millimetres (mm) width) across 4–5% of facade area;
- Spandrel panels, which provide cavities (100–200 mm depth) across 20–25% of facade area;
- Transition zones at building discontinuities, which have variable geometry.
The research shows that vision glazing is currently impractical because commercially available TE modules are not transparent, while window frames offer limited space and can accommodate only smaller modules. Transition zones can provide larger temperature differences but present challenges because their dimensions and geometries are not standardized. The research identifies spandrel panels as the most viable location for TE integration. Spandrels offer a greater available area and cavity depth than window frames, can accommodate multiple module sizes and provide a stable thermal environment. The approach could be used in new construction and retrofit applications.
The study’s abstract notes that recent research indicates that TE integration into transparent envelopes is possible, but challenges remain. The researchers write that “semi-transparent TE materials are being developed for power generation applications, while commercial bismuth telluride modules have been tested in window frames and opaque facade components for heating and cooling applications. Facade-integrated prototypes have demonstrated heating outputs of 66.8–273.6 W per module in Mediterranean climates. However, condensation on cooled surfaces, spatial constraints in slim glazing, complex electrical routing and architectural integration difficulties linked to transparency are the challenges associated with glazing integration.”
SOLARA adaptive photovoltaic façade tests a moving secondary skin
Another entry into the solar capture market described at the congress is an early-stage adaptive photovoltaic façade system called SOLARA. According to the study’s abstract, the system “combines a modular kinetic photovoltaic assembly, embedded sensing for monitoring, app-enabled control and a proposed adaptive learning layer.” Yilin Zheng, computational designer at HKS | LINE, and Victoria Lopez, a facade consultant, discussed the research behind SOLARA’s development during the World Congress, according to the same USGlass report.
Zheng, Lopez and Johny Lopez, a computer scientist, are exploring whether a building façade can move beyond being a static enclosure and instead respond to environmental conditions—nearby buildings, shadows, cloud cover, temperature and other localized conditions—while generating electricity and reducing building energy use. The work is currently at the proof-of-concept stage.
Victoria Lopez says the project comes as cooling demand rises, particularly in regions experiencing extreme heat. Increased cooling loads can raise building operating costs while putting additional pressure on the electrical grid. She states that building envelopes can play a larger role in addressing these problems by improving energy performance while also participating in renewable-energy generation.
Zheng explains that the SOLARA prototype is a modular, movable photovoltaic façade system designed as a secondary skin over a curtainwall, with individual solar panels mounted to single-axis motors that adjust their angle. Sensors collect performance data, which is routed through a microcontroller to software that controls panel movement and monitors system status and power output. The researchers aim to use machine learning to predict the optimal panel angle based on solar conditions, local environmental factors and actual photovoltaic performance.
What Canadian glaziers should watch as research matures
The FTI presentations are experimental and research-stage, but they point to envelope functions that go beyond air, water, thermal and structural performance. For Canadian glazing contractors, the relevant documents—the National Building Code of Canada, CSA A440 for windows and doors, and ENERGY STAR Canada thresholds—do not yet address energy-generating façade components in the manner described at FTI. Instead, those research directions offer an early look at the type of performance characteristics that could eventually inform future specification decisions as net-zero buildings become a larger part of Canadian construction.
A spandrel panel capable of housing thermoelectric modules, for example, would combine a traditional opaque zone with an active thermal layer. The FTI research identifies that location as the most viable for TE integration because of its available area, cavity depth and stable thermal environment. Adaptive secondary skins such as SOLARA would add a moving layer outside a curtainwall, changing how contractors coordinate structural attachments, wiring and controls. Neither technology is close to showing up in a Canadian tender package today, but the component-level logic matters for specifiers who will be asked to evaluate claims about façade energy generation in the future.
The research also underscores that not all façade areas are equal for generation. Window frames offer limited cavity space; transition zones are bespoke; spandrels are the most promising opaque zone. That hierarchy could help Canadian glaziers and architects evaluate early product proposals and separate realistic integrations from more speculative claims. The FTI World Congress runs biennially, and the Pittsburgh edition gathered researchers and industry experts around component-level innovation. For Canadian glazing professionals, the takeaway is not a product recommendation but a signal that energy-generating façade research is moving from concept to component-level evaluation.