ACADEMIA Letters
A blend of Traditional Visual Symbols in BIPV
application; any Prospects?
Samuel Amo Awuku, Robert Gordon University, School of Engineering
Amar Bennadji, Robert Gordon University, Scott Sutherland School of Architecture
and Built Environment
Firdaus Muhammad-Sukki, Edinburgh Napier University, School of Engineering
and the Built Environment
Nazmi Sellami, Edinburgh Napier University, School of Engineering and the Built
Environment
Abstract
Traditional Visual symbols are of great relevance, especially within the architectural space.
Buildings may adopt symbols to depict culture, iconicity or identity. The quest to meet sus-
tainable building targets and avert the looming efects of climate change has brought about
renewable options such as Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), which is the use of so-
lar PVs to replace conventional building materials such that they form part of the building
envelope. This paper discusses the nexus between traditional visual symbols and BIPV appli-
cation. A hypothetical question is posed; will incorporating visual symbols in BIPV design
infuence its adoption? Although a detailed evidence-based result is not produced in this pa-
per, architectural visualisation is used to depict the outlook of traditional Ghanaian symbols in
BIPV application, while further studies is being conducted into the prospects of these symbols
in BIPVs design using Traditional Ghanaian “Adinkra” symbols as case study.
Academia Letters, November 2021
Corresponding Author: Samuel Amo Awuku, nanaawuku021@gmail.com
Citation: Awuku, S.A., Bennadji, A., Muhammad-Sukki, F., Sellami, N. (2021). A blend of Traditional Visual
Symbols in BIPV application; any Prospects? Academia Letters, Article 4029.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4029.
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©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0