Dry Envelope Solution for Building Retrofit: Environmental Optimization through Life Cycle Assessment

The current energy-environmental emergency requires urgent actions, especially for retrofit existing buildings in line with EU Renovation Wave targets and decarbonization strategies. The paper presents the optimization process of a dry envelope system based on sandwich panels, developed and engineered within "RE-SKIN"Horizon project. Rather than introducing new materials, the approach upgrades state-of-the-art technologies to enhance performance while minimizing environmental impacts. Through close collaboration with consortium partners, the design evolves from conventional to low-impact materials, integrating low-impact coat steel layers and bio-based PUR foam insulation. A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) identifies environmental hotspots, guiding impact reductions between the initial and optimized design solution. The suggested sandwich panels enhance energy efficiency while enabling smart building integration for real-time monitoring, all while supporting circular resource use as a sustainable alternative to standard insulation coatings.