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Nowadays, public buildings are clad on the outside, many with stone-clad facades. Energy requirements have changed a lot in the last 20–25 years, and the latest required value of the thermal conductivity of masonry is 0.24 W/m2K. The relevant requirements, available materials, and fastening technology options have changed significantly. Our research covers a comprehensive analysis of these systems, the selection of stone cladding materials, and the suitability and use of individual stone types for facade cladding, as well as an energy examination of layered wall systems and the development of fastening elements, including the material structure of the elements and possible design and fastening methods. In the original university research, we also developed an applied technology for several product manufacturing companies in order to obtain approval for industrial application. In this article, we summarize the results of our research, the building structure and building physics issues, the necessary fastening technology design, and the main aspects of selecting stone tiles regardless of the manufacturing companies. The goal of our university research was the introduction and structural development of assembled stone facade cladding in Hungary, a development that continues to this day. The assembled stone cladding system we developed has been used to cover the facades of thousands of buildings in Hungary.

The rationale for this work arose from the urgency of improving the energy efficiency of buildings at the design stage, given the changing requirements of energy efficiency standards such as the Polish Technical Conditions (WT 2014 and WT 2020). This research is novel as there is currently limited information available on the improvement of the thermal performance of ventilated stone facade systems, although they are now widely used due to their practical and aesthetic advantages. The first objective of this work is to evaluate the thermal performance of the ventilated facades of the Praski Student House (Akademik Praski) and to assess how certain design variations can help achieve a lower level of energy consumption. Using a comprehensive case study approach, this study provides accurate thermal calculations of the facade to assess its global thermal insulation coefficient (Rt) and thermal transmittance (Uc). The improvement in the actual U-value from the original design is as follows: the U-value is reduced from 0.33 originally to 0.228 for WT 2014 and to 0.198 for WT 2020, showing a reduction of about 30.9% and 13.2%, respectively. These results indicate the energy efficiency of increased insulation thickness and optimally oriented air gap dimensions. The practical contributions of this research are valuable for architects, engineers, and contractors involved in the design and construction process of buildings aiming to achieve near-zero energy buildings (nZEBs), including concrete suggestions on how to improve current construction practices as well as material recommendations. There is a need for durability studies, for example to assess the performance of such facades under different climatic conditions, as part of future work to support these findings.