LCA comparative analysis between a Textile Façade Retrofit and conventional solutions

The analysis of the European building stock has identified an urgent need of renovation due to the buildings’ age, their predicted life-time and their energy consumptions. Considering that only façades account for 20-30% of the overall global energy consumptions [Dall’O et al. 2012], building skins play a crucial role in achieving the goal of the carbon neutrality of the building stock within 2050. The relevance of façades in building energy efficiency is driving an assessment of the potential impact of widespread façade retrofit as a means to improve building sector energy performances and to reduce energy consumptions and related carbon emissions. Architectural textiles present high advantages and potentials in façades applications thanks to their intrinsic properties, unveiling great potentialities in retrofit solutions. As a consequence of the initial considerations regarding the current use and role of textiles in façades applications, this paper assesses both the impact and the advantages of their employment in retrofit applications in terms of LCA and LCC in comparison with conventional methodologies. The analysis aims to validate the existing results about the potentialities of these materials in case of first life proving their efficiency also in retrofit practices. The research is conducted through a comparative LCA and LCC audit for evaluating the potentialities of innovative Textile Façade Retrofit (TFR) Strategies. The parameters used in the analyses have been acquired both from the State of the Art and from data provided by companies active in the field. Exploring the employment of textiles for retrofit applications, the research aims at evaluating the environmental potentialities of TFR Strategies through the integration within the design phase of the environmental dimension of the material, the optimization of the construction phase and an appropriate design. The outcome of the analysis showcases which parameters make TFR solutions competitive in the field, revealing further considerations for the optimization of the material and its application.