10 January 2019

Italcementi Group alongside Mario Cucinella will be technical partner to build a 100 sqm house with just 100,000 euro, by using the finest materials and the most advanced eco-sustainable techniques. The new building, designed by the architect from Bologna as a sustainable architecture, evidence that Italcementi Group keeps caring about research and innovation. The Centre's technical research and Innovation Group is working in close collaboration with the Studio Cucinella to develop building materials, techniques for thermal and acoustic insulation and industrialization processes for reducing the costs of construction of the eco-home. The non-standardized prefabrication, with light structural elements and mobile equipment, makes it possible to diversify the look both outside and inside.

Carlo Bardelli

15 March 2019

The stems of banana plants, which were traditionally destined to be discarded, become a new natural material today. Green Blade is the quality and eco-friendly semi-finished product presented at Made by French company FIBandCo, the result of a process carried out on these plants. The result is a natural plating, ethical and sustainable coating. Green Blade has the look of wood and it comes in four hot colors obtained through a manufacturing process, without the use of water or chemicals. This material is born in the wild and is treated with ECHO and responsible processing. In the hands of architects, designers and planners it becomes versatile material. It is used mainly in the form of plating, for cladding and architectural panels, but also to decorate kitchens, furniture and design objects thanks to its flexibility, thin thicknesses and translucent effect. An added value is that FIBandCo is a company committed to sustainable development. The bosses of the company are two young French engineers former students of ESIEE Paris, l'École de l'Innovation Technologique, who developed this particular innovative process to enhance the stems of banana plants in small units installed in the heart of banana plantations. The company was founded in Martinique, in the heart of the plantations: a choice that makes it possible to optimize resources and reduce carbon emissions. The fiber manufacturing process does not require the use of any chemical agent and the company produces its energy through solar panels. A green-oriented style, for sure!   www.fibandco.fr

Marco Mignatti

05 April 2019

Those living in temperate bands of our land, especially in Europe but also in Canada and in the United States, knows how difficult it is to deal with the increasingly extreme and sudden changes in temperature. Often, in fact, severe weather events and disturbances cause significant excursions between the low and high temperatures. In these situations, keeping a high level of comfort at home and at work inside buildings may not be easy.

Marco Mignatti

To ensure good living and working conditions, without resorting to massively expensive and polluting air conditioning systems, it is necessary to have a good thermal insulation system with the right envelope thermal inertia. In this way it is possible to enjoy a very good thermal and acoustic insulation, with the resulting benefits. To obtain optimum results in every type of intervention, Isopan – a company specialized in the field of insulated panels for roofing and wall – achieved Isocappotto coating systems. It is not a traditional coat, but a evolved double skin metal panel faced sandwich, covered with different materials to obtain the same aesthetic of the plastered walls. The ISOCAPPOTTO system can be defined as a kind of faux flashing, as it differs from the classical system of traditional walls for the presence of a double skin metal faced sandwich covered with different materials. In this way you can hide the presence of sandwich panel, imitating the aesthetic of classic plastered walls.

ISOCAPPOTTO is a system that can be applied to any type of intervention, from the construction of new buildings or industrial production sectors (Office buildings, factories, warehouses) as well as residential buildings such as houses or condominiums. The system also represents a valuable solution in case of renovations or improvements of existing buildings.

Isocappotto can have two types of insulation: mineral wool or polyurethane. Polyurethane isolation allows a series of advantages such as: high heat resistance, mechanical stability, speed, stability, lightness and flexibility. The benefits of mineral wool insulation can be summarized in: high thermal insulation, good fire behaviour, high sound insulation, flexibility, dimensional stability and mechanical.

15 February 2019

An asymmetrical wood volume. A building with irregular profiles, made up of several panels that characterize the facades. This is the new home of Perathoner, a company that manufactures wood sculptors, in the heart of the Dolomites. And right here, in an area that preserves nature and that makes local traditions an excellence, the Bergmeister Wolf Architekten architecture firm has designed a building in harmony with the context and the nature of the place.

Despite being an architecture that fits quite strongly in the landscape thanks to the asymmetrical profile, the new Perathoner headquarters fully respects the values of the place and reflects the company's activities. From the outside, the building looks like a large sculpture, and the different shades of color dictated by wood recall the different stages that characterize the processes of artistic production and craftsmanship.

The structure is made of wood, consisting of stacked triangular panels. Instead, the cover is constructed from larch shingles treated with different types of aging, treatments that cause the color to change. In this game, made of panels, there are some openings from which natural light filters. And right here, at night, artificial light is diffused with a strong visual effect.

The materials that complement the architecture are steel and glass.   www.bergmeisterwolf.it

Edoardo Croci

29 October 2018

Located in the north of the Spanish capital, with a strong architectonic identity, the project, which follows an architectonic philosophy of sustainable development, is a gigantic business campus enclosed within a glass wall, crowned by the greatest solar paneled roof in Europe. The 26,000 m2 of solar panels that cover the canopy-roof transform solar energy into electricity, 4,389,000 kw/h/year, which in turn reduce atmospheric emissions of CO2 by 2000 Tn. The new headquarters of Telefónica, Distrito C, which is, due to its dimensions, the largest corporate project in Europe, and one of the largest in the world, houses its twelve thousand employees in one sole headquarters located in the north of Madrid, in Las Tablas. A total of 16 buildings, 400,000 square meters, and 6,000 parking spots are some of the figures that shape Distrito C, located in Las Tablas. Characterized by the homogeneity of the buildings, joined by an immense roof canopy, the new business campus is spread over a 200,000 square meter rectangle of surface area and extends below ground. The district is divided into four phases, in each of which are two four-story buildings and one ten-floor tower. In addition to these twelve buildings, there is another singular building –the Central Building- where the company management is located, another housing all of the catering services (open to the public) and a third holding a daycare center, a fitness center and a health center for company employees. The project uses one sole coating material on the façade: glass. It utilizes the entire range, from total transparency as an intrinsic quality of the glass, to the artificial and absolute opaqueness of color silk-screened glass. For the former, extra-clear glass in large dimensions 4x2m is used. For total opaqueness, a new type of glass that was developed specifically for the project was used, making the interior vision compatible with the exterior opaqueness thanks to an advanced technology. Technically the façade was constructed through a modular system of double curtain walls. The combination of filtering qualities and distances between layers reduces the resulting solar factor –relationship between visible light transmitted and rejected heat- to 19%. This favorable relationship is absolutely necessary for the installation of the cold beam air-conditioning system with its reduced maintenance costs. Except for the four towers, all of the buildings are crowned by an impressive canopy, a rooftop that covers the entire construction, unifying the complex. Additionally, the canopy, which serves the purpose of refreshing and shading the common areas and corridors that internally connect the four phases, supports the largest surface area of photovoltaic solar panels (16,000) in all of Europe. An impeccable landscaping project incorporating the architecture and organized around a large pond was developed in Distrito C. (Fabiana Cambiaso, Università La Sapienza) Credits: www.rafaeldelahoz.com    Telefónica Headquarters -  Rafael De La-Hoz Castanys Architetto Site: Madrid, España Completed: 2008 Materials: Glass Applications: Envelope Photos: © Rafael De La-Hoz Arquitectos; © Roland Halbe; © Miguel de Guzmán; © Luis Asín; © Joan Roig

Edoardo Croci

25 Ottobre 2018

Corten steel plate turns into a scenic backdrop, so the façade of Palazzo "Campiello" in Vigonovo becomes a book. 190 panels cover an area of over 300 square meters and they give life to a lettering work: 15,000 letters and symbols make up words and phrases that, like carved on a piece of paper, reconstruct the memory of what has been lost forever.

The corten not only makes installation be unique and particular, but it has an important feature too. This material resists corrosion from weathering: the natural oxidation with time stops since it forms a protective patina.

With this technique, it was possible to exploit the old façade. And also: the oxidized colour appears warm and intense as to emphasize the experience of the building. The collaboration with sculptor Giorgio Milani and Philippe Daverio made the work be unique. The end result, full of meaning, is an words’ embroidery that create a plot reminiscent of the old "skin" of the building, the surface degradation that time drew.

This installation is signed by Italian 3NDY firm.   www.3ndystudio.it www.giorgiomilani.com  

Carlo Bardelli

11 December 2018

For the expansion project of the building of the community of municipalities of Lacq (Mourenx, France), the architect Gilles Bouchez has devised a sunscreening system made in techno-DuPont ™ Corian ® surface, in order to regulate the heat storage of a glass façade facing South.   Developed in collaboration with Créa Diffusion, certified laboratory for the processing of Corian ®, these perforated panels and slightly raised, have a rate of 30% openings, a unique technical and innovative result. The architect Gilles Bouchez explains: "I wanted an aesthetic and contemporary alternative to wooden or canvas awnings. a solution, something that is not very white, perforated heat accumulated to allow light to filter and view, and without visible structure. My idea was to get the panels that seem to float, visible internally and externally, with a feeling of thickness given by the shadows of them." The community of communes of Lacq (CCL) is a public organization of Intermunicipal Cooperation (EPCI), expanded January 1, 2011, through the merger of the communities of the municipalities of Arthez de Bèarn, Lacq, Lagor and Mone. The community of municipalities includes 47 rural municipalities and industrial groups 35 400 inhabitants and covers an area of 534.2 square kilometers.   Since its foundation in 1974, the CCL acts for the economic diversification of the industrial zone. In addition to building an environment conducive to job creation, the community also operates through land acquisition, development and commercialization of areas of activity, and the financing of infrastructure.   To encourage the creation of new businesses and expansion of existing companies, the CCL supports funding research, provides technical assistance in the implementation of projects, and also gives them financial support. "This solution proposed by Gilles Boucher wowed us the capacity to respond to needs, bringing the functionality of sunscreens with original and innovative aesthetics," explains Dominique Bernard, Vice President of CCL, project manager.   Two different heights of panels (3 meters x height 2 meters wide x 12 mm thick) were worked to cover a front of 40 metres long and 6 metres high, covering a total area of 251 square metres of Corian ®. UV resistance of the panels in Corian ® has been tested and confirmed on buildings as the seeko'o Hotel in Bordeaux, whose façade, after five years, remained intact. Corian ® has received the technical suitability of the CSTB (Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment) (n° 02/11 1472) to be used as cladding.   To be in line with the front mounted glass without apparent structure, and allow the occupants of these offices sunblinds without seeing the support structure, was developed a docking system similar to that used for glass: a set of vertical cables in stainless steel, spaced every 65 cm, on which they were "engaged" the panels made with DuPont ™ Corian ®. The architect Gilles Bouchez also provided the lighting of the panels, with rows of LEDs placed on the ground and half height, between the panels in DuPont ™ Corian ® and glass façade, face upwards in order to return the most relevant effect, playing at the same time the variety of colors offered by LEDs, and changing depending on the time of the events (and a golden light when the water rate is high or at Christmas , for example). The architect has also thought that at sunset, when the occupants of offices using artificial light, the latter could be reflected on Corian ® panels, affecting positively the decrease of energy consumption. Corian ® has made possible the realization of solutions: due to its ease of cutting were different sizes of perforation; Thanks to its thermoformability, was obtained the desired relief without visible joints and were manufactured large panels. UV resistant, Corian ® is a material that does not need to be replaced in the event of impact, but can be easily repaired and refurbished by sanding. In addition, a Corian ® façade does not need refurbishing after a few years, a simple cleaning with high pressure is sufficient.

Marco Mignatti

05 October 2018

Looking for a new balance between the natural environment and the built one, creative and constructive process of housing is looking for new concepts and objectives.

The architect Marco Piva presented at Made the installation "Space for Life" that addresses the issues of small-scale residences, their possible aggregations in more and more complex structures.

Constructive solutions are made in relation to the highest energy standards. The manufacturing technology is that of wood, renewable natural material; energy performances are in "class A"; renewable energies are used and the structure is earthquake-proof and fire resistant.

The building materials are sustainable and high performance. The vertical walls are made with the innovative Greenbiz. Born in Japan, result of research and studies, it is a unique and worldwide patented material, result of a virtuous cycle of production. Cooking at very high temperatures, above 1000° c, makes the matter be like ceramics, so it is inert, fireproof and ultra-micro porous and lightweight.

The characteristics of absorption and thermal insulation combined with the ability to absorb water and hold it for 50% of its volume makes it the best possible material for industrial roofing and terraces with hanging gardens. Used as a coating, it works as a coat and it allows the creation of vertical green.   www.greenbizitalia.it

Edoardo Croci