Abstract: “The research tackles the urgent issue of upgrading existing buildings‟ envelopes in order to comply with current codes and regulations (European and local) concerning energy performance. The proposition involves the design and development of alternative retro fitting strategies for existing building envelopes utilizing recycled paper prefabricated cladding and shading systems. The project is titled “RETRO-CLAD” and stands for Retrofitting Cladding. Currently the already built environment outweighs the newbuilt. Most existing buildings do not conform to expected energy standards. The “RETRO-CLAD” research aims to provide vital information to relevant local authorities and organizations in order to consider strategic planning of action, updating building codes and general shifting the emphasis on the already built rather than the new-build. There is currently virtually no policy in place for upgrading existing buildings for energy performance. The “RETRO-CLAD” utilizes low”

Keywords: retroffitting, building, cladding, shading, architecture, building components, prefabricated, components, recycled, paper