Within the WRAP design study, innovative and sustainable solutions for the improvement of existing buildings were developed.
We took a poorly insulated single family home from the 1970s as an example to show the potential of industrially manufactured panels for thermal insulation in comparison to commonly used products such as expanded polystyrene. Insulation made of polystyrene in conglomerate with other building materials can hardly be recycled.
The industrial panels used in this design study (trapezoidal sheet panels with polyurethane and mineral wool insulation) are part of a self-supporting wrap shell which is put over the existing house without changing the original facade below.

The panel construction functions not only as thermal insulation but also offers the possibility for extensions to the building – in this example as an attic in lightweight construction.
Because of the panels dimensions and standardized joints the construction phase can be shortened and building costs can be sharply reduced. Further the sound insulation can be significantly improved. The WRAP Concept offers the possibility to improve the thermal performance of buildings up to low-energy or even passive house standards.

Team: Fabian Dembski & Adolf Daniel Merl (Daxner&Merl)