IMPRESS will develop three different prefabricated panels for buildings: (i) a polyurethane based insulated panel with improved thermal performance and light radiation and (ii) a thin, lightweight pre-cast concrete sandwich panel, with optimum thermal and weathering resistance, both of which are suitable for overcladding; (iii) a lightweight pre-cast concrete sandwich panel incorporating Phase Change Materials (PCM) to adapt the thermo-physical properties of the building envelope and enable optimum passive heating and cooling benefits, suitable for recladding. Innovative nano/micro particle based coatings, suitable for 3D printing, will be also developed to achieve anti-corrosion resistance, high mechanical strength, improved solar reflectance, improved ageing resistance and anti-vandalism properties. To create the panels, an innovative manufacturing process will be created that includes Reconfigurable Moulding (RM) techniques, 3D laser scanning and 3D printed technology. In addition, 3D printed microstructured formworks will be developed as permanent external layer for the polyurethane panel to match the existing building aesthetics and provide solar radiation efficiency. The overall manufacturing process will (i) allow for mass production of panels, which take into account complex architectural and aesthetic issues, (ii) allow for faster production while lowering prefabrication costs and (iii) develop new controlled and cost effective solutions. IMPRESS will also develop a new Iterative Design Methodology, which will incorporate all stages of the Design-Construct-Install-Operate process. This will be integrated with a BIM cloud based database focussing on the interoperability between software tools required for the prefabricated process. Furthermore, new penalty based business models will be investigated. The final result will be demonstrated on two existing buildings where final as-built product performance will be validated against the initial design.

Concrete is the most widely used man-made material on Earth, with an annual consumption of around 10 billion m³. However, its fabrication is characterized by total CO2 emissions amounting to around 5% of the worldwide anthropogenic GHG emissions. More sustainable cements with lower embodied energy and CO2 footprint are needed. As stated in the European Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings (COM 2010/31/EU), the development of better performing insulation materials and lightweight systems for building envelopes is crucial, playing a significant role in the reduction of buildings operational energy while complying with the load bearing features of existing building structures. The ECO-binder project aims to implement industrial R&D activities on the results of previous research, demonstrating the possibility of replacing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and OPC based concrete products with new ones based on the new Belite-Ye’elimite-Ferrite (BYF) class of low-CO2 binders to develop a new generation of concrete-based construction materials and prefabricated building envelope components with more than 30% lower embodied energy, 20% improved insulation properties and 15% lower cost than the actual solutions based on Portland cement. The new building envelope solutions will integrate multiple functions in a single product package, providing the higher performances in terms of acoustic insulation/absorption, fire resistance, dimensional stability, indoor air quality optimization, at an affordable cost. Demonstration of full-scale retrofitting and construction will be performed prototyping and installing a family of prefabricated concrete systems of different complexity and end-use in four different climatic conditions involving public authorities.. Results will be validated through dedicated LCAs, fostering the construction materials sector progress towards increased performing and eco-sustainable products.