Energy performance of film membranes in the retrofitting of Architectural Heritage: an Italian case study

During the last decades, the development of architectural textiles led to significant innovations in the building industry. Designers, producers and researchers have invested in the technical development of textile envelopes with the aim of improving the structural performances of existing building in a cost-effective and sustainable way without sacrificing the aesthetical aspects of the historic buildings. The optimization of technical textiles properties focused particularly on the production process, on the lifespan and the end of life scenarios. Despite the technological progress, the performance of the membranes in terms of internal comfort and energy consumption still represents a critical issue constantly investigated by the academics in this field. In parallel, recent research on the use of membrane structures in historical buildings provided important references and data on the advantages of textiles application in the protection and promotion of the architectural heritage thanks to their intrinsic lightness and reversibility. For this reason, it is fundamental to evaluate the effects that the integration of film membranes has in these valuable structures in terms of energetic behaviour.