Editorial

Abstract

Dear JFDE Readers and Authors,

This issue is the result of the facade conference Powerskin, held on 19 January 2016 at the building tradefair ‘Bau’ in Munich. The conference was organised in a cooperation of TU Munich, TU Darmstadt and TU Delft. All three universities maintain a facade research and education unit on building envelopes. The conference featured a mix of practice and education related and scientific contributions. Again, JFDE was chosen as the platform to publish a selection of scientific papers. A total of 22 abstracts were reviewed of which 17 were pre-selected. From those, we received 13 papers that had been subjected to our strict double blind peer review process. A final selection of 9 papers forms this issue. We thank our guest editors Thomas Auer and Jens Schneider who have been key partners in creating this special issue. As discussed in the last editorial, we have successfully completed the NWO funding period (Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research) to start up JFDE. Open Access publishing strongly depends on author publishing fees and the introduction in our scientific ((field?)) needs some more time. In search of a new business model, we proudly announce that we have found two partners wo believe in the relevance of JFDE. The Society of Facade Engineering SFE is a joint initiative of CIBSE, IStructE and the RIBA with the aim to create a forum to advance knowledge and practice in facade engineering. CWCT It is an industry funded centre and a leading information provider and trainer in the field of building envelopes and glazing. Both organisations acknowledge the need for an independent scientific publishing organ which will contribute to the development of the field of facade design, engineering and construction. This support enables us to continue JFDE. We want to thank the publisher IOS Press and especially Mark Eligh to have guided JFDE to the level where it is now. This issue is the first published by TU Delft Open, a publishing house established by the TU Delft Library. We will continue to deliver high quality contributions with the aim of 3 issues per year. Thank you for supporting JFDE.

The editors in chief,

Tillmann Klein

Ulrich Knaack