It is more and more known that buildings must be designed for future climate conditions. Wetter winters and sudden heavy downpours make it even more important to direct rainwater and meltwater away from buildings, whose internal temperature fluctuations need to be controlled using innovative passive approaches. In fact, the energy transition is a pathway to transform the global energy sector from a fossil-based to a zero-carbon system, requiring building physics to provide solutions for zero-energy buildings. These require an integrative and holistic approach to all aspects affecting energy performance, comfort and health. This keynote provides a platform for recent research in exploring the impacts of climate change on buildings and presents several nano-technologies developed to make buildings more resilient.