Automated process for the fabrication of highly customized thermally insulated cladding systems

Adding thermal insulation to existing building envelopes can be an effective way of reducing building energy use. While most thermal insulation materials are affordable, the cost of installing thermal insulation into existing buildings can be expensive. Real facades are also characterized by many unique elements that affect their rated thermal performance, such as corners, windows, doors, and many other interfaces. Combined, these elements can constitute more than 50% of a faade surface, and they also have a significant impact on the overall envelope performance. Typical retrofit solutions use small standard siding and insulation elements that are cut on-site to fit the individual project. The fragmented fabrication process and onsite construction methods often result in wall retrofit systems that leak air, absorb moisture, have high cost, and do not perform optimally from an energy or durability perspective. This project deals with the study of a new fabrication process for the delivery of highly customized cladding systems with integrated thermal insulation, focusing on retrofit applications. The proposed approach involves a semi-automated documentation and design phase followed by a computer numerically controlled fabrication phase. The proposed technique accommodates a production environment that integrates all phases of a typical faade retrofit project, including the documentation, design, fabrication, installation, and maintenance phases. The technique allows fabrication of large faade panels that are dimensionally tailored to a particular project, resulting in a high performing retrofit system. The technical objective of this phase I project is to conduct an experimental study that established the technical feasibility of the most critical fabrication processes used in the proposed fabrication method. In addition, the overall faade delivery method also includes new facade documentation and design techniques that require further investigation.