Marrone Grazia

Grazia Marrone is a junior Assistant Professor at ABC Department, where her research explores the intersection of building technology, industrial processes, and construction innovation, bridging academic research and industry practice in steel-based systems. During her PhD, she was a Visiting Researcher at Eurecat Technology Centre (Product Innovation & Multiphysics Simulation Department) within the EU-funded StepUP project, contributing to the development and analysis of an off-site steel-based façade system for building renovation. During her postdoctoral research, she also conducted teaching and research activities as Guest Researcher of Institute for Applied Sustainability to the Built Environment (SUPSI).Since March 2025, she has been Visiting Academic at University of Saint Joseph (Macao), where she teaches Advanced Construction Technology and Lighting and Acoustics at bachelor’s level. She is involved in research and consultancy as a member of VELUXlab and BEELab, contributing to EU-funded and industrial R&D projects on cold-formed steel systems and off-site construction, with results published in journals and technical books.

Career

Five-year single-cycle Master’s Degree in Building Engineering and Architecture (cum laude); Doctor of Philosophy in Production and Management of the Built Environment (cum laude); Research Fellow (November 2024 – October 2025); Assistant Professor (fixed-term), from November 2025.

Research

Her research explores the relationship between architecture and industrialised building systems, with a focus on the analysis, development, and implementation of integrated solutions based on cold-formed steel technologies. Through applied research and close collaboration with industry partners, her work addresses the design and performance optimisation of building envelopes, combining technological innovation and sustainability principles to advance off-site steel-based construction systems, with particular attention to sandwich panels and Light Steel Frame technologies.

Selected Publications

Marrone, G. (2026) La sostenibile leggerezza delle costruzioni in acciaio: “Architettura e Industria 5.0” con strutture laminate a caldo, profili formati a freddo e pannelli sandwich coibentati, Maggioli Editore.

Marrone, G., Vilà, D. M., Ribas, I. R., & Traini, R. (2025). Off-Site Industrialized Systems for Building Renovation: Implementing Plug-and-Play Facades in the Construction Process. Construction Management Workshop, 277–289.

Marrone, G., Masip Vilà, D., Rafols Ribas, I., Lupi, M., Traini, R., & Ibañez-Puy, M. (2025). Assessing and Benchmarking a Multifunctional Plug-and-Play Façade for Building Renovation: Advantages and Limitations in the Construction Process. Sustainability (Switzerland), 17(5).

Marrone, G. (2025). Off-Site Technologies for the Building Envelope: Mapping Practices and Innovations of Cold-Formed Steel-Based Systems. Construction Management Workshop, 305–320.

Salvalai, G., Marrone, G., Maria Sesana, M., & Imperadori, M. (2023). Lightweight extensive green roof for building renovation: Summer performance analysis and application in a living laboratory. Enegy and Buildings, 298, 1–14.

Marrone, G., Sesana, M. M., & Imperadori, M. (2023). Life-cycle assessment of light steel frame buildings : A systematic literature review. In F. Biondini & D. M. Frangopol (Eds.), Life-Cycle of Structures and Infrastructure Systems: Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE 2023), 2-6 JULY, 2023, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy (1st ed.) (pp. 2405–2412). CRC Press.

Sesana, M. M., Marrone, G., Imperadori, M., & Pesenti, A. (2024). Le protezioni dell’acciaio: Progettazione, metodi e innovazione nelle protezioni di strutture metalliche mediante zincatura, verniciatura o applicazioni composite. Maggioli Editore.

Grants, awards and Honours

She has received awards for her academic and applied research activities. In particular, she was awarded first prize for research projects developed within research groups at the National Conferences on Rigid Polyurethane Foam (Naples 2022; Turin 2024), focusing on the design of cold-formed steel buildings for emergency contexts. In 2024, she received the Best Paper Award for the scientific contribution “Off-Site Technologies for the Building Envelope: Mapping Practices and Innovations of Cold-Formed Steel-Based Systems”, presented at the international workshop New Frontiers of Construction Management.

For her experimental Master’s thesis, she received several first prizes and honourable mentions in national and international competitions dedicated to sustainable architecture.