Prefabricated timber façade for the energy refurbishment of the Italian building stock: The Ri.Fa.Re. project

This paper describes the Ri.Fa.Re. timber-based solution, an innovative timber-based prefabricated panel for the energy refurbishment of the existing Italian buildings façades. Although similar technologies have already been tested in several European countries, they are not feasible to be used in the Italian context characterized by specific geometric features of the building stock and by seismic constraints which are not relevant for most of European countries. Moreover, this research does not aim only at developing a product but also at adopting a new process, based on parametric design and lean construction principles. The main outcome of this project is a concrete kit for energy refurbishment suitable for the Italian context, including: a) a technological prefabricated but customizable product and b) a more efficient process to decrease time and cost wastes during the whole process.