Celebrating World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development

As Façade Consultants, we are acutely aware of the importance of sustainability and building performance in façade design and engineering, but this hasn’t always been a key consideration.

In the early 20th century, advances in steel and concrete allowed façades to become non-load bearing “skins”, leading to the development of the glass curtain wall, championed by architects like Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. After World War II, the use of aluminium and glass expanded rapidly, defining modern corporate architecture through iconic buildings alongside growing industrialisation and prefabrication in façade construction.

But it wasn’t until the 1970s and particularly with the energy crisis, that the primary role of the façade shifted from being simple weather protection, to acting as a critical component in a building’s thermal performance.

This period, and into the 1980s, saw the widespread adoption of double glazing and low-emissivity coatings, as well as the development of standardised modular systems as well the emergence of specialist façade consultancies such as us.

In the 1990s and 2000s, digital tools including CAD and later BIM, enabled more complex geometries and improved precision, enabling sustainability and building performance to become central concerns, leading to innovations like double-skin façades. Façade Engineers began working to balance aesthetics with energy efficiency, thermal performance, and occupant comfort.

Now, in the 21st century, façade engineering has become integral to carbon reduction and net zero strategies, incorporating smart and kinetic systems, advanced materials, parametric design, and emerging fabrication methods to create high-performance, responsive building envelopes.

On this World Engineering Day, PRA are proud to be part of the role that façade engineering plays in shaping sustainable, high-performance facades that blend innovation, beauty, and environmental responsibility.