5. Conclusion and outlook

Although examples of microalgae biofacades have been developed and validated on an industrial scale, the technology is still emerging and the concept needs to be optimized. Integrating microalgae cultivation through biofacades offers several advantages, which are summarized in this article. These include construction synergies and a reduced environmental footprint, both in terms of microalgae cultivation (in particular through reduced energy consumption associated with thermal regulation and the use of building effluents as growth nutrients) and in terms of the building itself (reduction or even total treatment of effluents emitted and improved energy performance).

However, this results in a "hybrid" system that is currently difficult to deploy. Although a biofacade may have architectural appeal (not discussed in this article), it remains a tool for producing biomass,...