This paper presents the opportunity to exploit the kinetic adaptation of the façade skin-roughness for enhancing the air-flow related characteristic of high-rise buildings. A conceptual design solution, in which the roughness adaptation is achieved by means of innovative shape changing materials, will be presented. Roughness elements located on the building envelope are able to modify the velocity field close to the façade; this modification has an effect on the natural ventilation and, primarily, on the heat exchange due to the wind convection. The study will deal with some simplified case studies of 3D geometries of round and square towers. Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) will be used to show how integrated roughness elements are able to affect the flow field along the building envelope. This paper contains some new ideas about wind optimisation of buildings and the opportunity to use shape changing materials for adaptive façade elements.