Integrated Thermal-Energy Analysis of Innovative Translucent White Marble for Building Envelope Application

Marble is a natural material, used in the construction field since antiquity. It has always been used to communicate monumentality and solidity. Nowadays new technologies permit marble to express new languages: particularly, translucent marble technology overturns the concept of solidity. The main issue to address is the lack of thermal-energy performance of such a thin stone layer as the only facade component. Conversely, Bianco Carrara and Statuario marbles, for instance, have intrinsic benefits as natural cool materials, due to their high solar reflectance and thermal emissivity. Thus, this paper analyzes the thermal-energy and environmental behavior of marble facade for a new designed building in New York City. An integrated analysis of the energy performance of the marble skin is performed through a preliminary experimental characterization, carried out for two different types of naturally white marble, for comparative purposes. Then, a dynamic simulation model of the building is developed to evaluate year-round benefits and drawbacks of the translucent marble envelope in terms of indoor thermal comfort and air-conditioning requirement. The analysis showed how the proposed marble facade is able to decrease the energy requirement for cooling up to 6%, demonstrating possible relevant perspectives for marble-based facades, even in energy-efficient buildings. OPEN ACCESS Sustainability 2014, 6 5440