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PurposeObsolescence is a decline or loss of utility of an object, building or product. Different types of building obsolescence decrease buildings’ utility and shorten their service life. The purpose of this paper is identification of building obsolescence types and the relevant factors that affect buildings to become obsolete. It is also intended to categorise building obsolescence types to provide a contribution towards increasing building service life and delivering sustainability.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review is applied to conduct this research. It follows five steps: (1) formulating the research question; (2) locating studies; (3) selecting and evaluating relevant studies; (4) analysing the findings; (5) reporting and making use of the results.FindingsVia this study, it is revealed that there are 33 types of building obsolescence. They are clustered in 10 categories regarding their conceptual and causing aspects and are presented based on their recurrence in the literature. According to the findings, economic obsolescence (including economic, financial and market obsolescence types) and functional obsolescence (including functional, use and utility obsolescence types) are the most remarkable categories.Originality/valueInvestigating the literature makes it clear that building obsolescence types have been studied intermittently with infrequent profound exploration of the relationship between them. This paper presents a comprehensive identification of building obsolescence types and introduces obsolescence categories that classify connected obsolescence types. It is a new framework for further studies on building obsolescence to find more effective prevention strategies to mitigate social, economic and environmental consequences of building obsolescence.

The control of energy loss through building envelopes has always been a passive design solution for architecture and improvements in space quality. A significant factor is the control of infiltration through the geometry of the glass façades of buildings. The uncontrolled input air flow from the outside into an interior space is known as infiltration. The main infiltration factor is the pressure difference between a building's interior and exterior. This difference might result from the interaction of the wind with the façade. Other possible causes are the stack effect and mechanical ventilation. There is a fundamental question about the effects of the outer glass shell geometry on wind infiltration and building energy consumption. The purpose of this study was to investigate the geometries of building façades with glass materials in different climates and to measure wind infiltration. Consequently, building energy simulations were performed to calculate the infiltration rates in building shells with different geometries. Four forms were simulated, and the effects of the wind infiltration-induced air exchange on heating and cooling energy consumption were evaluated in four climates in Iran. The results indicate that convex geometry reduces the wind pressure in the outer shell and the air exchange rate resulting from the infiltration; thus, heating and cooling energy consumption is reduced.