All posts by Giulio

Electric cars, Ideas, Style, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

‘That Ol’ Devil Pinin Farina’ is Back With a Battista Anniversario

Pininfarina Battista Anniversario Takes Electric Cars to New Level

Italian auto designers Automobile Pininfarina have added an elite vision of the Pininfarina Battista electric car to their stable of super-fast road racers.

They claim this is the ultimate expression of the world’s first luxury pure-electric hyper-GT street racer, although we should not be surprised if they have more up their sleeve.

The ‘Anniversario’ alludes to the fact it is 90 years since founder Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina established his coach-building business. This spun out into arguably one of the world’s most bespoke auto design companies.

It also underlines the fact that electric cars are becoming synonymous with their brand, but this time they are being hand-crafted near the company’s headquarters in Turin, Italy.

However, skilled artisans will make only five Battista Anniversario’s, which are up for grabs in exchange for over three million dollars apiece. This makes it the most exclusive, most powerful road-legal electric car to come out of Italy, ever.

  • Anniversario  uses the Battista solution of a 120 kWh battery pack driving four individual motors, one at each wheel
  • The combined power output from the Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide battery is 1,877 horse power / 1,696 pound-foot of torque.
  • The Anniversario package adds aerodynamic enhancements, new forged aluminum wheels, and performance-oriented tires
  • Air brake flaps at the rear keep the Battista under control as speed increases to a blistering 217 miles per hour

Automobili Pininfarina will hand craft just five Anniversario’s in Turin, with the balance of 145 being standard superfast electric cars. Production will begin by the end of 2020. Bidding is expected to be brisk for the Anniversario despite a minimum price tag of €2.6 million each.

These five heritage vehicles celebrate the beginning of Automobili Pininfarina ninety years ago. The founder’s grandson, Paolo Pininfarina, Chairman, Pininfarina SpA says: “My grandfather always had the vision that one day, there would be a stand-alone range of Pininfarina-branded cars. The Battista Anniversario, named in his honor to mark 90 years of the carrozzeria that he started, is a glorious way to link our Per Svantesson, CEO, Automobili Pininfarina explains “For 90 years, the Pininfarina name has been at the forefront of automotive design and performance, and the Battista perfectly encapsulates these values. This ultimate expression of Battista, the Anniversario, is the distillation of everything that the brand has stood for in the past and which we now strive for in the future, creating a new pinnacle of desirability for sustainable and luxurious electric cars.”

Battista Anniversario enhances the basic model – if basic is the right word – with an added level of dynamic ability, and bespoke heritage-inspired anniversary livery. Skilled artisans will take several weeks to paint each car, building up the finish layer-by-layer and color-by-color and all by hand.

Each car will feature a combination of three signature colors: Bianco Sestriere, the never-seen-before Grigio Antonelliano, and Automobili Pininfarina’s signature Iconica Blu. The artisans in the paint shop will painstakingly strip the bodies, and reassemble them five times as they meticulously hand paint the pin stripes directly onto the cars.

Luca Borgogno, Chief Design Officer, Automobili Pininfarina is justifiably proud.  “Battista Anniversario features one of the most complex paint finishes in the world. The process of creating such a finish is akin to a great artist completing an Old Master painting. The result is more than just a visual work of art. Styling, balanced with ultimate performance, produces a genuine Pininfarina: the beauty of power and the power of beauty.”

TheBattista Anniversario fully electric car comes complete with the Furiosa package delivered as standard. This package comprises a revised carbon fiber front splitter, side blades and rear diffuser.

However, the Anniversario does things a little differently. These additions are finished in two-tone combinations of exposed signature carbon and carbon tinted in Iconica Blu with pin stripes in Bianco Sestriere.

The designers added a unique rear wing, rear aero fins and other bespoke details to the Battista Anniversario package. These deliver more dynamic balance, increased downforce, and greater stability when cornering at high speeds.

The finishing touches to this electric supercar – the fastest to come out of Italy – include:

  • Center-lock aluminum forged wheels reducing unsprung weight by almost 22 pounds
  • Real wheels enlarged to 21-inch diameters and shod in performance-oriented tires

These adjustments enable the fully-electric Anniversario supercar to achieve its top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph). The Battista Anniversario is faster than a Formula One car in the sub-two second 0-60 mph sprint. Finally, the all-electric supercar accelerates from 0 to 300 km/h in less than 12 seconds.

These levels of performance are delivered alongside a zero-emissions range of 500 km, thanks to car’s 120 kWh battery oack, mounted within a stron T-shape carbon frame low down in the chassis.

An engraved chassis plate and headlights, plus ‘Anniversario’ script on side wings, black anodized dedication door plaques and specially engraved chassis plate between the seats identify each Anniversario as one of only five in the world.

www.automobili-pininfarina.com

Architecture, Building Envelope, Electric cars, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Trends

CyberHouse LIFE

A Last Bastion of Intelligent Civilization

The chief architect of Modern House bureau, Alex Wizhevsky, continues to amaze the whole world with exclusive architecture.

The architect and his young design team spend their time in their St Petersburg studio designing luxury houses for Russia’s successful bourgeoisie class. However, there are only so many things you can do with four walls and a roof so occasionally they let their imagination rip open the box.

The architect and his young design team spend their time in their St Petersburg studio designing luxury houses for Russia’s successful bourgeoisie class. However, there are only so many things you can do with four walls and a roof so occasionally they let their imagination rip open the box.

CyberHouse LIFE is Alex Wizhevsky’s latest creation on a craggy slope overlooking a deep lake among high mountains. However, it is more than a retreat for a super-rich person. It is the ultimate retreat in his fertile imagination from a zombie virus that is taking over the world.

The dark times have come to a troubled generation. Devastation and agony rule over vast swathes of territory where there are no borders or governments left. Chaos ensues as the vast majority of humans become mindless zombies, intent on infecting the last of the survivors.

A small number of survivalists had the foresight to build bunker shelters before the apocalyptic moment arrived. They have reached out to each other, and created a new community on an isolated group of islands. This is a virtual commune that acts out of belief in love and kindness, mutual assistance and openness.

They have achieved tremendous success in a remarkably short time. However, they must prepare for the onslaught of the zombies, for they may come. Alex Wizhevsky’s CyberHouse LIFE is the home he created for a survivalist client in his immensely fertile imagination.

The new, avant garde society has achieved tremendous respect for each other. And for the unspoiled islands where they have settled far away from the chaos reigning. It follows their homes will participate in the environment, not dominate it as often happened in the old era.

The new breed of settlers wants a comfortable home that maximizes deployment of new materials and technologies. They want a new take on their living space too, and a new style developed for comfort and convenience.

However, they are also mindful they are creating bastions for the defense of their fledging society. Alex Wizhevsky has recognized this imperative. He has created a design that is not only beautiful. It is a state of the art fortress ready and able to repel invaders.

CyberHouse LIFE embraces nature where it rests on a slope, instead of digging it away. Its design conceals the fact it has an area of almost 15,000 square feet. The house reflects the rugged rocks around it. It palpably wants to take their form without disturbing their natural balance.

However, this is not a home for a spartan survivor. Architect Alex Wizhevsky has endowed his imaginary client with a sundeck to perfect their glorious sun tans using free, abundant solar energy. Perhaps he doubts the zombies will ever find the islands, before they self-destruct in a final act of insanity.

Therefore, he has made his CyberHouse LIFE a place for joyous living, in a truly glorious natural environment that is a fitting place to regenerate humanity. The building comprises two modules, a garage below, and a house plus sundeck above. The upper space has walls of glazing with unique, interior views of landscape.

The interior evolves and opens out as it cascades down the slope and reveals a series of terraces, and the pièce de résistance floating deck. CyberHouse LIFE is a place to be for own sake. But at the same time it is a bunker of monolithic concrete, bullet proof glass, and heavy duty steel.

CyberHouse LIFE is a naturally intelligent home with bunker, household, technical, and residential space. Alex Wizhevsky needed to make house autonomous in order to withstand a mindless zombie siege.

His imaginative design provides for solar panels, wind turbines, heat pump, water and air treatment and purification systems, and an independent wastewater plant. However, the military-grade security takes cyber living to a new level where a system of concentric defenses applies the principle of diminishing probabilities.

1… The exterior surfaces are angled to cause projectiles to deflect like a battle tank or naval combat vessel

2… There’s a bunker at the core made of monolithic concrete with a level four defense contour around it.

3… The concrete ground floor residential area is also monolithic concrete protected by armored airlock doors

4… The outer contour shield is a strong metal frame sheathed in sheets of heavy-duty metal alloy

5… Finally, the window openings have armored glazing with high-strength automated metal shutters

Architect Alex Wizhevsky says CyberHouse LIFE would resist hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, extreme temperatures, chemical emissions, and radioactive contaminations.

But its regular purpose is to provide a safe, comfortable, environmentally friendly home. We’re open to an invite whenever the prototype is ready.

But we will arrive in a Tesla Cyber Truck just in case. That’s because Alex Wyzhevsky suspects it might be the only survivor of a zombie virus.

Impressive design, sophisticated constructions, durable materials, green technology.

Strong monolithic concrete, heavy-duty steel, bulletproof glass. You are still completely safe.

CyberHouse LIFE. For those who love life.

www.cdproject.ru

www.instagram.com/p/B8yZpTFFdm3

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS – Roatan Prospera Residences

Top Ecological Design: Zaha Hadid Architects’ New Roatán Residence in Honduras is a Sustainable Dream

Zaha Hadid Architects with AKT II and Hilson Moran Partnership have developed a digital architectural platform to create homes for Roatán Próspera. The residential designs are a specific ecological and social response to the climate, terrain and culture of Roatán in the Caribbean, the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras.

The designs learn from the wisdom of the past, integrating the local vernacular tradition of timber construction, climatic appropriateness and spatial experience with new digital design, engineering and construction techniques.

Working with AKT II, the design approach starts from a comprehensive understanding of the local supply chain, logistics and construction techniques to promote the use of local materials, craftsmanship and manufacturing facilities which support the economy of the region.

The design’s modular system is founded on the use of sustainable timber, sourced nearby from certified forests on the Honduran mainland and treated locally, to form the main structural elements. Digital information technologies will optimize the use of all parts of the sustainably-forested logs to minimize waste and pollution. This process also contributes to reducing the embedded construction energy and carbon footprint of the development.

Erick A. Brimen, CEO of Honduras Próspera LLC, explains: “The design prioritizes sustainability and is integral to our vision for Roatán Próspera. The island of Roatán is already a renowned tourist destination. Roatán Próspera will strengthen and diversify the local economy while creating homes defined by their natural environment.” 

With considerable reductions in waste material, and a higher quality of construction due to the greater precision achieved by off-site fabrication, this modular system of assembly is a cost-controlled solution specifically tailored to local supply chains, transportation and installation.

The dimensions of the structure’s base timber units have been established to follow the constraints of the local transportation networks to ensure carbon emissions and logistics costs are minimized.

The use of lightweight timber results in a reduced and adaptive foundation system that can be fabricated off-site, keeping intervention to the site minimal and giving maximum protection to the site’s native flora and fauna.

Divided into a ‘kit of parts’ that is quickly assembled on site, the design approach is centered around ensuring local craftsmen, tradesmen and construction teams also benefit from the knowledge and experience obtained by working with new technologies; building lasting relationships between homeowners and the local community that will help new residents to integrate with local culture. All suppliers will be given full assistance to develop their product lines to the 3D digital information model of the houses and the terrain.

The design’s passive environmental control strategies minimize energy consumption by reducing temperatures to improve thermal comfort, with little or no requirements for mechanical ventilation.

Optimizing renewable resources to reduce energy consumption and generate water, the modules are designed to be self-shading, open and oriented towards the prevailing sea breeze for natural cooling. Local, natural materials and ground coupling provide further cooling to interior spaces. When required, water is removed from the atmosphere for supplementary cooling by dehumidification. This water is harvested and filtered and available for use in each home.


For self-sufficient and net zero carbon operations, shading canopies are optimally shaped to accommodate photovoltaic arrays for renewable power generation. Batteries will store renewable electricity for future use.

The design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) approach has been carefully instilled into the design of the structural kit of parts, while smart timber connections allow for quick assembly and disassembly, giving the potential to reconfigure the residence or recycle any element of the modular kit.

Integrated services and insulation will be pre-assembled and installed within this structural system that performs as a robust structural frame and building envelope with enhanced thermal and acoustic performance. The configuration platform ensures adjacent units have consistent service locations to minimize on-site connection.

The digital configuration platform allows home-owners to plan their homes and connect with local suppliers; bringing the construction and operational benefits from the digitization of the buildings.

The platform can be used to accommodate the specific spatial needs of family members, share resources and costs with neighbours and allow flexibility for communal modules such as a children’s play area.

This digital platform adapts varying configurations of standardized parts to create individual residences that suit each homeowner.

Applying parametric design software developed by the Computational and Design Group at ZHA (ZHCODE) and the Computational Engineering Team at AKT II, (P.ART), the platform ensures that each residence is developed specifically to the configuration defined by each homeowner. It also ensures that each home is fundamentally sustainable by using as little material and energy as possible in its construction and operation with the shapes of each element within the building being environmentally appropriate, particularly from a solar and ventilation perspective.

Extensive feasibility studies have informed the design of the platform’s kit of parts using a library of spatial and building elements tailored to the ecology and supply chain of Roatan. These adapt digital design and fabrication methods to incorporate the skills, experience and craftsmanship of local building traditions and culture.

Particular care has been given to ensuring the designs are sustainable and feasible within the environment of Roatan; incorporating vernacular design features such as palapas and other naturally ventilated spaces, the use of locally sourced timber, passive shading, rain water collection and cooling-pools.

                              
A principle underpinning the configuration platform is three-dimensional property rights with homeowners acquiring occupational and exclusion rights for units of 3D space called volume-pixels or voxels. Their residences will be algorithmically computed to fit within their chosen arrangement of voxels. Each voxel is 35 square meters in plan-area and 4 meters high. Residential units vary from 35 sq.m studios (1 voxel), to 175 sq.m family homes (5 voxels). This parametric approach to the design of each residence and overall composition of the development yields many different possibilities united by a coherent formal logic and materiality.

Homeowners can use the platform to customize the spatial layout of their residence to fit their preferred number of voxels. These choices are exponential in nature, with at least 15,000 different variations to configure the maximum of 5 voxels.

The configuration platform adapts each residence to the terrain and other particulars of the site include views and minimizing any earthworks during assembly.

The platform also gives a choice of built-in furniture modules and spatial arrangements to suit individual lifestyles and preferences. These modules include walk-in wardrobes and conversation pits and are designed to integrate into the walls or contained in islands within each room.

Homeowners can also appoint local suppliers to create furniture specific for each room using the digital assets that the configuration platform provides including the 3D model of the home.

Text and photos courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Top Stories, Trends

ANASTASIA ELROUSS ARCHITECTS – MM Residential Building

MM Residential Building sits on a 900-square-meter rectangular site at the intersection of two streets in Chiyah, a fast-developing suburb of Beirut. 

The new structure holds 14 residences plus a retail space on the ground floor, in a vertical stacking of floor plates set around a central and open planted core. The structural façade offers plenty of flexibility for the ways in which the building can be inhabited, both in plan and in section. Single-floor apartments, duplexes and penthouses can be integrated into the volume, in a nearly random pattern, so that residents can customize their own living space.

Pocket Gardens and linear terraces run along four façades, creating 360-degree views of Beirut and its environs. The planted surfaces are buffer zones between the private internal spaces and the immediate surroundings. At the same time, the building soars from the ground up as a single structural vertical planted element, extending out of the busy city life.

MM Residential Building is a vertical green landmark with a unified structure whose multi-layered façades act as a protective translucent shell vis-à-vis the street and the surrounding buildings. In a contemporary and innovative manner, the new landmark offers residential solutions that are both practical and enjoyable, while giving city residents new ways to inhabit the urban environment.

Architecture, Green Energy, Ideas, Net Zero, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Meet the SPACE by ECOCAPSULE

SPACE by Ecocapsule® is a limited off-grid micro-unit with beautiful ORIGINAL design and solar panels for green energy gathering. It gives an extra 6.3 m2 of habitable space to any building or space in usage. It can be your garden home office, sales place for little entrepreneurs, a guest room or a daughter for Ecocapsule® ORIGINAL which makes it a perfect off-grid living for 4-5 people. Also, it’s a great accommodation solution for traveling business in situations as we are experiencing now on a global scale.

Since Ecocapsule® launched a mass production in 2018, Ecocapsule ORIGINAL has made it to all the corners of the world. Besides Europe, at the moment there are Ecocapsules e.g. in USA, Costa Rica, Bahamas and Japan. One of these capsules was purchased by a famous Hollywood actress, political and environmental activist Susan Sarandon. „When I first saw Ecocapsule, I thought this is what we need for the future, as a concept. We need to support and use purely green solutions in everyday life”, S. Sarandon said.

Compared to the Ecocapsule ORIGINAL the price of SPACE is much lower. “Based upon demand of our customers we’ve made SPACE affordable for broader customers scale, and more comfortable to use.

Besides green energy collected by solar panels SPACE can also use energy from the grid, which makes it more users-friendly”, says Tomáš Žáček, founder, Design Director and CEO of Ecocapsule Ltd.

Compared to the Ecocapsule ORIGINAL the price of SPACE is much lower. “Based upon demand of our customers we’ve made SPACE affordable for broader customers scale, and more comfortable to use. Besides green energy collected by solar panels SPACE can also use energy from the grid, which makes it more users-friendly”, says Tomáš Žáček, founder, Design Director and CEO of Ecocapsule Ltd.

SPACE has a multiply usage – it can be a home office, a guest room, an attractive sales place for small entrepreneurs, additional housing for a cottage, a houseboat or simply your personal space. As for situations, that we are currently experiencing globally, it can be an effective solution of accommodation for travel businesses and resorts.

The price of basic version of SPACE by Ecocapsule is 49 900 €.

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Dubai Commercity – The future of business!

Dubai CommerCity (DCC), the region’s first dedicated e-commerce free zone

Middle East’s e-commerce market is set to reach around $69 billion by 2020, becoming one of the world’s fastest growing international markets. DCC will play a pivotal role in the development of the e-commerce sector. It will provide growth opportunities for global and regional manufacturers, as well as distributors and global e-retailers. DCC will offer a unique e-commerce ecosystem for companies in the industry such as software as a service, logistics as a service, call centers, web developers, photoshoot studios amongst others.

Dubai CommerCity is the first e-commerce free zone dedicated to the growing E-commerce market in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. It is a joint venture between Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) and Wasl Asset Management Group with an investment of AED 3.2 billion spread over an area of approximately 2.1 million square feet. The free zone is a strategic project, aimed at elevating Dubai’s position as a leading center for e-commerce. It is set to shape the future of e-commerce in Dubai, becoming a regional hub for the industry by providing unique services that add value to customers’ businesses.

Dubai CommerCity is spread across a total built up area of 520,000 SQM with office spaces of 240,000 SQM and logistics units covering 54,000 SQM. Dubai CommerCity is divided into three modern and innovatively-designed clusters: the Business Cluster containing 12 modern g +6 office buildings and green spaces; the Logistic Cluster consisting of 105 logistic units (dedicated and multi-client) equipped with the latest technology; and the Social Cluster comprising of multi-purpose halls, flagship and super stores where customers can exhibit their products, science labs to innovate, photoshoot studios, modular exhibition centers, wellness centers and a range of restaurants and cafés. Dubai CommerCity has implemented state-of-the-art technologies to provide investors with a smart & quality-focused business ecosystem. First batch of Phase-I will be delivered in Q4 2020.

Architecture, Covid19, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Top Stories, Trends

Rimbin: an infection-free playground inspired by nature

German designers develop anti-COVID playground inspired by the look of water lilies

Rimbin is an infection-free playground where children can play, talk and laugh together without risking spread of Covid-19 and without losing the fun of playing. Responsible for this new concept are Berlin inventors Martin Binder and Claudio Rimmele, who saw the crisis as a creative challenge.

Rimbin is a special place where children can play, talk and laugh together without getting spreading viruses, and without losing the fun of child play. Rimbin works thanks to the following six principles:

● Each child is given a single playing area.

● There is individualized access to this playing area.

● Children can see each other.

● Children can communicate with each other.

● Children can be kept in view of parents.

● Children can play different games from a safe distance

Between the platforms, children can communicate to each other with the help of speaking tubes. These connecting tubes can transport the sound of speech through the magic of physics. Thus children can conduct a secret playful dialogue without the supervision of their parents. The speaking tubes are placed on the sides of the play areas with enough distance so children are not encouraged to touch or lick the funnels at the end of the speaking tubes.

The biggest risk of infection with the virus as known so far is through direct human contact, nonetheless we would propose permanently installed disinfectant dispensers to make it easy for parents who wish to clean the areas exposed to touch in order to lower the risk of infection as much as possible.

Rimbin is a place made for children – a place where they can immerse themselves in their world, learn from others and let off steam.

Architecture, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends, Wood

RECEPTION CENTER FOR VISITORS IN QUEBEC

Aditus Pavilion – Martin Dofour Architecture

Delicately placed in the middle of mature woodland, the pavilion was designed as a reception structure to receive visitors interested in Laurentian residential development. It acts as both a portal and an exhibition hall, highlighting the natural environment in which it is located. It reveals the exceptional nature of the land and offers different experiences of the place. 

The building projects the visitor into the experience of a contemporary interior essentially looking outwards. It is from this duality that the concept of “the inverted box” was born. The solid wood structure supports the roof veil whose non-orthogonal geometry recalls that of the shelter while erasing the sensitive boundaries between the interior and the exterior. The passenger compartment is circumscribed in a volume of glass of rectangular shape which literally slips between the structural members.

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

NATURE MEETS DESIGN

Casa Ojalá allows you to live your imaginations, immersed in the landscape that surrounds you

Inspired by recent travels in the vast and endless countryside of the northern Andes, Architect Beatrice Bonzanigo sought to create a refuge where one – she! – could comfortably stay a few days without disrupting the physical and existential immersion in the landscape. Thus Casa Ojalá was born: pairing the luxurious comforts of home with a structure that adapts seamlessly to its surroundings, allowing guests to rediscover themselves submerged in nature.

Equipped with self-contained electrical and water systems, the shelter is off-grid capable allowing for installation in remote mountaintops or isolated beaches.

From design to reality

After its heralded debut at Milan Design Week in 2019, Beatrice formed Casa Ojalá srl with Ryan Nesbitt to develop the initial design into full-scale production and make it available to individuals and boutique hotels alike. Prototyping is underway and first deliveries are expected late 2020.

Made in Italy

Italy is renowned worldwide for its design, raw materials and superb craftsmanship and Casa Ojalá raises the bar yet again.

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

MERCURIO DESIGN LAB – Villa Mistral, Singapore

Named after the seasonal strong, north-westerly wind that blows across the Mediterranean, Mistral is less like a cabin cruiser and more like a sleek cruise ship. Painted in a slightly different white to Vento, but also with a metallic tinge, Mistral has a powerful solidity to it. Like Vento, its structural elements are expressed both externally and internally, simultaneously referencing a boat and communicating the sense of a strong forward thrust.

It exploits the angularity of outward-leaning structural elements and similarly angled glazed walls to fashion an almost vertiginous experience both inside and outside of a powerful vessel driving through the sea.

As with Vento, the street elevation of Mistral combines timber and concrete in a façade penetrated by windows of varying scale to generate a strong rhythmic quality. This is complemented by the forward-thrusting angularity of the building, which leads the eye towards the water which is only barely glimpsed at this stage.

Again like Vento there is a carefully orchestrated sequence of arrival designed to heighten expectation and ensure maximum drama with the final reveal of the view. Floating concrete slabs form a footbridge linking the porte cochère across a pond with the entry vestibule. Here a sculpted travertine wall (screening the stairwell) drives the circulation to either side, delaying the final dramatic tableau.

Mistral is over four levels, including a large entertainment room in the basement. Dining, dry kitchen and living are on the entry level, while level two consist of bedrooms and a roof terrace overlooking the canal. The bedrooms on level two, including the master bedroom, are to the side with one at the rear (streetside) with views back to the ocean.

With Mistral ─ as with Vento ─ the structure is the form. There is total integration, just as the project as a whole is assimilated with MDL’s building design, interior architecture, decoration, furnishings and art works. “The only thing we haven’t done,” says Massimo, “are the plates and dishes.” It is an example of what he calls a complete solution ─ complete also for the way it accommodates the client’s preoccupation with ” feng shui, harmonizing wind and water.
The two houses also exemplify the way MDL pushes the envelope formally and structurally. They invariably present a challenge to the contractors both structurally and in terms of detailing ─ for example, making and installing windows which fully integrate into the curved facades.

But they also represent an aesthetic challenge. These are unique, if not idiosyncratic forms. Given Massimo’s love of ‘symbology’, it is not surprising that houses like Vento and Mistral have a story to tell, which begins on the outside where their forms and their landscaping blend to generate an integrated whole which then extends to the interiors, where the interior architecture, the materials and the planning ─ not to mention the customized artworks and other decorative elements ─ all work together to generate narratives unique to each building.