Textile Shading Facades as an Energy Retrofit Strategy: Case Study of the Cefla Office Building

Abstract

Lightweight textile membranes have increasingly been adopted in facade retrofit applications due to their minimal self‐weight, high prefabrication potential and capacity to function as external solar filters. In office buildings characterized by extensive glazed facades, excessive solar gains contribute to overheating, glare and elevated cooling demand, particularly in Mediterranean climates. While conventional retrofit measures often rely on invasive envelope replacement or insulation upgrades, textile shading systems provide an alternative strategy based on external solar interception. This paper integrates literature on lightweight membrane facades, environmental filtering mechanisms and retrofit strategies for glazed office buildings and presents the Cefla Office Building in Imola, Italy, as a case study. The intervention consists of approximately 545 m ² of micro‐perforated textile sails mounted onto an existing diamond‐shaped structural grid on a south‐oriented facade. The study analyzes architectural integration, structural adaptation and connection detailing challenges. By positioning textile membranes as reversible solar‐regulating layers rather than replacement envelopes, the paper contributes to the discourse on adaptive facade systems and lightweight retrofit strategies.