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When multiple thermal retrofits are to be installed in a building envelope for improving its energy performance, several questions arise such as "what should be the thickness of retrofits and where they should be placed within the wall/roof", "which retrofit should be installed towards the exterior and which one should be installed towards the interior of the envelope". Such judgements are made in contemporary studies by comparing limited predefined configurations where either the thickness or the location of retrofit assumes only a few discrete values within the envelope. The novel approach proposed in this study utilizes spatial discretization of structural layers in a composite envelope for two fold benefit. A new version of Genetic Algorithm (GA) is developed for this purpose by modifying its key operational stages. The GA is implemented in a practical scenario to optimally configure a multi-retrofit envelope (carrying phase change material and thermal insulator) of a common residential building in hot climate of India. Analysis of a single housing unit demonstrates that up to 33.5% of heat gain reduction and 9.2 kWh/day of electricity saving are achievable with improved envelope design. • Comprehensive guideline for designing multi-retrofit building envelope is presented. • All possible sizes and locations of thermal retrofits can be checked simultaneously. • Thermal performance assessment of multiple combinations of PCMs and insulators. • A multifaceted Genetic Algorithm is modelled to drive the optimization. • Optimized envelope resists up to 33.5% of diurnal heat gain in hot Indian climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]