the new generation of scalable urban HEat isLand mitigatIOn by means of adaptive photoluminescent radiative cooling Skins

From their early origins urbanization has produced both benefits and penalties due to the generated anthropogenic stress.

Documented overheating such as urban heat island (UHI) compromises human wellbeing in cities, where 60% of the world population lives and is exposed to the related health risks and vulnerability. An urgent solution is much needed here and now, since classic passive cooling techniques showed to slowly mitigate UHI.

A disruptive improvement must be dedicated to eradicate the problem by conducting a ground-breaking multidimensional and multidisciplinary research. That is the key motivation of HELIOS, which aims at holistically developing the resilient urban skin of the future.

This skin will take advantage of the combination of successful radiative cooling in the atmospheric window(8-13μm) and high solar reflectance integrated for the first time to photoluminescence in the short wave(0.25-2.8μm) thanks to the breakthrough lead-free halide perovskites.

HELIOS will develop novel radiative cooling structures into temperature responsive carriers (eg phase change-oxides, thermonastic shape-memory alloys) and albedo adaptive photoluminescent finishing, with the twofold purpose to tailor radiative supercooling performance enough to minimize winter penalties and to give the desired colour finishing, finally allowing the sustainable upscaling of this research frontier.

This approach would radically change the building physics paradigm, with the ambition of rethinking built environment into a fully-dynamic resilience, as only Nature can do.

HELIOS will indeed analytically and experimentally identify the thermal-radiative physics of such skin, assessing its performance for indoor-outdoor human comfort and energy-efficiency.

HELIOS bio-inspired radiative and photoluminescent skin will be indeed tailored and optimized for each dynamic boundary, as demonstrated through a disruptive building physics experimentally-validated balance and urban canopy model worldwide.