All posts by Giulio

Architecture, Eco Tourism, Style, Sustainability, Top Stories, Trends

CAST AWAY ON BORA BORA IN YOUR DREAMS

A piece of paradise on an idyllic blue lagoon in French Polynesia

In the shadow of Bora Bora’s Mount Otemanu, overwater bungalows and pristine white beaches welcome you to enjoy your time at the Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora. Experience a little piece of paradise, explore the turquoise waters of the lagoon and discover colourful corals and thousands of exotic reef fish. Ending your day in your private pool guarantees marvelous views of the golden sunset and the Polynesian night sky.

The resort is located on a Motu, a private islet, on the French Polynesian Leeward Islands. It is the perfect place to take you away from the stress of everyday life and lets you relax in absolute privacy alongside a tranquil turquoise lagoon. The secluded location with breathtaking views of the ocean and Mount Otemanu makes it one of the most loved resorts in the world – a guarantee for a memorable stay.

Bora Bora is an equatorial atoll in French Polynesia, midway between Papua New Guinea and Ecuador. Days are hot, and nights are warm throughout the year. The ocean temperature averages a comfortable 80 ºF / 27 ºC, making this an ideal location for a laid back aquatic holiday stay.

There’s a single main entrance into the atoll, wide and deep enough to admit cruise ships. American Airlines, Air France, and Air Tahiti provide regular services. Bora Bora Four Seasons Hotel is on the eastern atoll fringe, with beach access to the lagoon and ocean.

Recently awarded the title of “Most Epic Stay Hotel in the World” by AFAR, the Four Seasons Bora Bora Resort offers three different types of accommodations. Wake up to a stunning ocean view in an Overwater Bungalow Suite, take your Overwater Bungalow experience to the next level with a Specialty Bungalow, or reserve your own beach vacation with a Beachfront Villa Estate. Regardless of your choice the many different activities at Four Seasons Bora Bora will make your trip unforgettable.

Overwater bungalow suites with traditional teak wood furnishings, and Polynesian artwork add a touch of luxury to a holiday of a lifetime. It’s almost like living in a thatched hut in a traditional village.

Four Seasons Bora Bora is an exceptionally well-endowed resort. But nature added the final touches by including one of the best snorkeling and diving destinations in the world. The resort is a heartbeat away from a breathtaking lagoon.

The narrow openings in the coral atoll, between lagoon and ocean teem with aquatic life that congregates to feed on the rich bounty of food flowing through. The more intrepid can swim alongside manta rays, and sharks cruising along the coral wall.

Across the lagoon on the main island, Mount Otemanu rises 2,385 feet above the water. Guests have a choice of sightseeing boat tours, helicopter rides, catamaran trips and hiking adventures.

Wilderness treks meander through the foothills hinting of a castaway experience. History buffs can take a 4-wheel drive around the island, to view caves, ancient archaeological relics, and giant cannons dating back to the South Pacific military campaign.

There are larger, land-based beachfront villas, for family groups who prefer the luxury of a private pool. These have indoor-outdoor flows to full al fresco kitchens, and access to private beachfront settings.

These spacious bungalows also have traditional finishes, featuring local Polynesian architectural materials and styles. Guests are allocated dedicated villa hosts, to ensure they have everything they need and a personal guide.

The Kahaia Haven Spa at Four Seasons Bora Bora takes inspiration from a Polynesian tree that relieves headaches and pains, and provides timber for dwellings and trees. Wellness services include traditional, and western practices to nurture body and soul.

But they also offer healthful outdoor therapy, including yoga on the shore of the lagoon, and a vitality plunge pool close by natural vegetation but also providing spectacular views across foothills to the lagoon.

Fine French wine and cuisine are available at the Arii Moana Restaurant, presided over by executive chef Eric Desbordes from Thiais, France. The Fare Hoa Beach Bar and Grill provides all-day dining, and cocktails with toes in the sand. While a traditional Tahitian Fish House showcases local marine foods.

Lovers of each other, and of the quiet life can elect in-bungalow dining, or an intimate breakfast in an open-air restaurant with views of Mount Otemanu. Or if they feel like something completely different, they could paddle to a private island for a champagne dinner for two, as the sun sinks closer to the rim of the ocean.

Sheer luxury competes with nature’s stunning beauty, at Bora Bora Four Seasons Hotel on an equatorial island in French Polynesia. Yet the architecture blends seamlessly everywhere you go and the interfaces are transparent.

Architect Didier Lefort Architect Associates oriented the buildings to optimize island views, and use natural ventilation to reduce air conditioning. They used simple shapes to downplay the intrusion, and cultural elements to enhance the serenity.

A sense of understated opulence, underpinned by personal service follows you everywhere in this Four Seasons resort. There’s a sense of spaciousness everywhere you go. Sometimes, if you let your imagination soar you could be that castaway in your dreams.

Serenity envelops you while you are here, and invites you to return. Perhaps it’s the laidback life style of the Polynesian people. Maybe it’s being able to wake when you like, sleep when you like, and dine with your feet wiggling in the sand. It’s certainly an opportunity shake off the stress.

There are echoes of the rich culture of the Polynesian islands in adornments of everyday items. These features find their way into the artwork, the woodcarvings, and even the patterns in the textiles.

But perhaps the ultimate experience in this special place is to retire for the night to luxuriously understated accommodation over a peaceful lagoon. What better way can there be to drift off. Other than listening to the sounds of the universe, as the gently-lapping water lulls you to sleep…

Coral Reef Restoration Project

The Bora Bora atoll relies on its coral reef to sustain the marine food chain, and attract sufficient tourists to maintain the economy. Four Seasons Bora Bora planted its foundations in the living reef.

Global warming is raising sea water temperatures closer to the point where the tiny coral organisms can no longer survive. The rich marine life, including the seaweeds that root on it could vanish forever, unless something can be done to sustain the coral.

Four Seasons Bora Bora is participating in a project to grow artificial reefs, and sustain marine life despite this threat. A low electric current passing through the water causes marine crystals to develop on an electrode, which encourages natural coral growth.

Resorts guests may participate in this project, by placing new ‘seeds’ of artificial coral in the lagoon. Then they can find them with GPS tracking when they return, and see how their ‘baby coral reef’ has grown.

This ‘Biorock’ technology is safe for swimmers and marine life, although there is some evidence it repels bull sharks and Caribbean reef sharks. This is because it affects their electro receptive ability during the final stages of their attacks.

PHOTOS COURTESY FOUR SEASONS HOTELS

Architecture, Building Envelope, HVAC, Ideas, LEED, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Urban Forest

Going beyond the headline of a ‘green building’

“Urban Forest is probably the greenest we can design with the current “greening” tools and regulations available to us.”


Koichi Takada

Featuring one of the world’s most densely-forested vertical gardens, Urban Forest by Aria Property Group and designed by Koichi Takada Architects, is a 30-storey mixed-use residential high-rise located in the cultural precinct of South Brisbane, Australia. The building includes 382 apartments, a two-storey rooftop with garden and residential amenities, and an open public park on the ground level. The site of the building totals 2,782 square meters and it will have an overall floor area of 55,000 square meters.

Vertical planting in high-rise buildings is part of a new movement that sees architects bringing greenery, biodiversity, oxygen and mental health benefits back to high-density city living. Urban Forest achieves 300% site cover with living greenery, featuring 1000 plus trees and more than 20,000 plants selected from 259 native species. This is more than five times the number of trees found in nearby Musgrave Park. The landscape is not just an attractive feature, but is a dynamic, active component of a sustainable building, increasing biodiversity and reducing the ecological footprint of the city. It will also create a green spine connecting the Southbank Parklands with Musgrave Park.

“Since the industrial revolution, our society has focused on mass production. Now is the time to shift towards mass greening. 2020 has represented a number of different crises to our society and environment from the devastating bushfires in Australia to COVID-19 pandemic crisis worldwide. With the post COVID-19, I think it’s a great opportunity to pause and rethink and not just adapt, but shift the paradigm from industrial to natural. Concrete, steel and glass are very hard and solid industrial materials. Let’s call them dead materiality. We need to be embracing more living materiality, living architecture. One take away from the COVID-19 pandemic crisis is the realisation that we are all living things. We are here to live, not defy death in some way. Our architecture should do the same.”

Urban Forests ambition is to be the world’s greenest residential building. By targeting 6-star Green Star rating, equivalent to LEED Platinum, Urban Forest represents another stage in the evolution of the architectural vertical garden. It will set the benchmark for sustainable and subtropical high-rise apartment buildings, creating an exemplar in design-led development and innovative ESD standards in Brisbane. Passive design principles make the most of the subtropical climate, maximising natural light and allowing cross-ventilation.

Organic, sculptural, stepping facades covered in greenery provide physical and visual insulation from the sun, wind and rain, while sky gardens and facade vegetations also provide natural thermal and solar insulation. Other sustainable features include solar panels to generate renewable energy, gardens irrigated by harvested rainwater and grey water collection, carbon offset, and the use of sustainably-sourced and high quality, low maintenance materials. Because this is a low-energy building with high water efficiency, operating costs are reduced also.

On the ground level, the building is designed as a useable, comfortable and friendly public park for the community. The building is lifted up, just as the traditional Queenslander is lifted on stumps, with tall sculptural columns envisaged as ‘tree trunks’ supporting the tower above. This space, filled with dappled light, brings the experience of the building to the ground level creating connection to the public domain over 1,642 square meters.

As an example of world-class sustainable design, Urban Forest gives back to the community, creating a home with a strong sense of place and identity. A world class visitor experience and tourist centre will be created on site to educate patrons on building design, plant types and biodiversity. The centre will provide the opportunity to engage with and educate local schools, universities and visitors on the sustainable performance of the building. By investing in the community, Urban Forest invests in the future of the planet and people.

Urban Forest offers a holistic approach to sustainability, creating not just a ‘green’ building with heavy vertical vegetation, but also setting a benchmark in environmentally-sustainable design and offering a social sustainability approach through the creation of a large public park on the ground level. And a best-practice approach to energy and water management. In this way, Urban Forest strikes the balance between environmental, social and economic sustainability, prioritizing people, planet and profit.

www.koichitakada.com

Architecture, Building Envelope, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Heatherwick Studio unveils EDEN skyscraper, a 20-storey residential vertical garden in Singapore

Heatherwick Studio was commissioned to design an apartment building in the historic Newton district of Singapore. Inspired by the vision of a ‘city in a garden’ imagined by Lee Kuan Yew fifty years ago, and by the lush tropical setting of the area, the studio’s design is a radical departure from the glass and steel tower typology. The studio set out to craft homes within a garden that also harnessed all the benefits of apartment living; a place where residents would feel connected to the city’s tree-lined streets whilst enjoying views, light and privacy.

By pulling apart the square block of a conventional residential tower and moving the services to the perimeter, each apartment has a large central living space, surrounded by smaller individual rooms and wide shell-like balconies. The apartments are lifted 27 metres above an intensely planted ground-level tropical garden. The greenery from the garden is threaded upwards and around the building through a series of planted chandeliers which grow as they rise up the building’s dramatic 18 metre high lobby, to become generous private planted outdoor spaces.

The balconies are alternated to create double-height outside spaces filled with planting from more than twenty species of flora. As well as surrounding each apartment with tranquil and calming greenery and natural shading from the Singaporean sun, the plants will grow to cascade down the building, softening its appearance.

The building represents a unique way of living in the city, with its combination of evocative natural materials, textures and crafted details and its celebration of the area’s natural landscape. Over time, the building is designed to mature, as the lush planting grows, like a sapling that has taken root beneath the streets, pulling the landscape of Singapore up into the sky.

Architecture, Building Envelope, Ideas, LEED, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

ZHA announces the design of 2 Murray Road Hong Kong, China

Located in the heart of Hong Kong’s central business district, the 36-storey Murray Road project for Henderson Land replaces a multi-storey car park to create an urban oasis adjacent to Chater Garden within a short walking distance to both Central and Admiralty MTR metro stations.

With its base elevated above the ground to shelter courtyards and gardens cultivated with trees and plants in the centre of one of the world’s busiest cities, the design creates new civic plazas that are enveloped by nature.

Echoing the organic forms of the natural world; the redevelopment connects with the adjacent public gardens and parks. These tranquil outdoor areas flow into the generous communal spaces of the interior; the craftsmanship and precision of the curved glass façade enhancing this seamless connectivity between the building’s interiors and the surrounding gardens and city beyond.

The design reinterprets the structural forms and layering of a Bauhinia bud about to blossom. Known as the Hong Kong orchid tree, the Bauhinia x blakeana was first propagated in the city’s botanic gardens above the Murray Road site and its flowering bud features on Hong Kong’s

Working with the Henderson Land and Arup’s Building Sustainability Team, the design has achieved LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum pre-certification together with the highest 3-Star rating of China’s Green Building Rating Program. The design, procurement and construction targets full certification at occupancy.

The building’s smart management system creates a contactless pathway for all occupants from the street to their workstation that eliminates direct contact with communal surfaces and includes AI-assisted lift controls. Using a mobile phone, contactless smart card or biometric recognition, occupants can enter the building and pass security, call lifts to their office floor and access other zones such as lounge areas and washrooms.

Located on the refuge floor, the Sky Garden is an outdoor recreational space with running track and an aquaponics planting network that acts as an effective biological air-purifying filter by consuming contaminants. Designed to withstand the region’s powerful summer typhoons, the façade is comprised of 4-ply, double-laminated, double-curved insulated glass units – the first of their kind in Hong Kong – to effectively insulate the building and reduce its cooling load as well as build resilience.

Hybrid ventilation is controlled by the building’s automated management system and enables all office levels to be naturally ventilated. This natural ventilation can be supplemented when required with mechanical dehumidification and filtration to further enhance the indoor environment and air quality.

The building’s air quality monitoring system will detect the degree of occupancy in any interior and automatically adjust indoor air temperature, humidity and fresh air volume to meet demand. These smart systems learn to accurately predict daily occupancy trends to optimise energy demand, ensuring increased efficiencies with lower energy consumption. 
A top-down construction method is employed to accelerate the redevelopment programme on-site by implementing deep basement and above-ground construction at the same time.

With construction works beginning last year and its procurement targeting embodied carbon reductions as well as the use of recycled materials, 2 Murray Road looks to the future with the integration of advanced design, construction and operational technologies.

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

BIODIVERCITY PAVES SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR PENANG ISLAND

BIG, HIJJAS AND RAMBOLL SELECTED AS WINNER OF PENANG STATE GOVERNMENT’S COMPETITION TO DESIGN PENANG SOUTH ISLANDS MASTERPLAN


BIG, Hijjas and Ramboll propose a vision for a new sustainable destination where cultural, ecological and economic growth is secured and where people and nature co-exist in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet at the southern shore of Penang Island: BiodiverCity.

Penang State Government initiated an international design competition in January 2020 to transform Penang South Islands into a sustainable, global destination, providing Penangites with approximately 4.6km of public beaches, 600 acres of parks and a 25km waterfront. BIG, Hijjas and Ramboll’s masterplan proposal – BiodiverCity – supports the Penang2030 vision with a clear focus on livability, on stimulating a socially and economically inclusive development, and on environmentally sustainability for future generations.

Penang’s vast biodiversity spans various topographies and protected environments which, in recent years, have seen its coastal zones and natural habitats disrupted by urban developments. In contrast, BiodiverCity is conceived as an Urban Mosaic of three diverse islands, and a set of urban design guidelines for mixing programs, addressing pedestrian and mobility networks, building sustainably and harvesting resources. The three islands bring together mixed-use districts of 15,000 to 18,000 residents across 50 to 500 acres, and a continuous 50 to 100m buffer around each district, establishing habitat connectivity and supporting edge ecologies in reserves, parks, corridors and urban plazas.

BiodiverCity will have an integrated system of localized water resources, renewable energy and waste management, tied altogether in a human-made ecosystem. Rather than design a city for cars, we designed BiodiverCity for waterways, rail and different kinds of personal mobility, forming a multi-modal environment of movement. The resultant urban landscape will be a celebration of Penang’s position as a truly global crossroads of the world – economically, ecologically and socially.” Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group.

The Channels, BiodiverCity’s first island, is constructed in three complementary phases: in Phase 1, Active Destinations include a wave pool and technology park; in Phase 2, a Civic Heart establishes governance and research institutions in the area; and in Phase 3, a Cultural Coast builds upon the heritage and vibrant creative energy of Penang’s George Town to create a regional and international draw. As the heart of the district, the Channels’ 500-acre digital park includes spaces for research, development and local business opportunities. Malaysia’s newest public destination will be the future home for conferences, education centers and a family-oriented park where locals and guests can explore the world of technology, robotics and virtual reality.

“At the south-end of Penang Island, BiodiverCity’s ecologically diverse landscape promotes co-existence with natural elements while giving ground for communal experiences rooted within Malaysian heritage. A network of biologically rich islands is scaled and programmed to accommodate diversity in social experiences for Penangites and newly established habitats for native plant and animal species.” Daniel Sundlin, Partner, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group.

The Mangroves, BiodiverCity’s second and central island dedicated to businesses, is organized around a network of sheltered urban wetlands, creating suitable environments for its namesake Mangrove forests—an important natural infrastructure that doubles as effective powerhouses for sequestering more than four times as much carbon as a typical forest. 

“Penang’s vibrant multicultural society and biodiverse ecosystem plays a vital role in the social, economic and physical well-being of its inhabitants. As the local architect and planner, we worked together with BIG and Ramboll to secure inclusivity across all levels, including people, culture, nature and land for Penangites. BiodiverCity is designed on this premise of ensuring a sound future and a new normal based on a social contract that puts us in harmony with nature and ensures inclusivity for all, both Penangites and the environment.” Serina Hijjas, Principal Architect, HIJJAS.

The buildings in BiodiverCity will be designed to perform efficiently and will to a large extent be constructed by low-carbon materials such as bamboo and Malaysian timber in combination with green concrete, a sustainable alternative comprised of industrial waste and recycled materials. By encouraging green roofs, facades, public and private open spaces, the islands can form a nearly continuous habitat mosaic feeding back into the forests, beaches, riparian zones and estuaries at the island’s edges.

“The Penang South Island vision includes an adaptive infrastructure management platform to harness the site’s renewable resources provided by the sun, wind, rain and ocean. The platform will be ‘plug-and-play’ and include governance to incentivize the use of emerging green technologies as part of an evolving resource management solution.” Shonn Mills, Global Director, Ramboll.

The Laguna, BiodiverCity’s westernmost island, is an oasis for ecological living, organized around a central marina. Eight smaller islands form a miniature archipelago, where floating, stilted and terraced housing takes advantage of the natural setting of Tanjung Gertak Sanggul, and where fisherman landing points can easily access the open waters by navigating each of the island’s waterways. Meanwhile, newly established marine habitats support biodiversity underwater by providing spawning grounds for native species, and recreational points and hatcheries support the local communities along Penang’s southern coast.

A web of ecological corridors connects forest reserves to coastal beaches while supporting habitats and communities across the islands. Within human-populated areas, animals are given safe passage through the continuous canopy and waterways, and within natural habitats, people can safely access elevated boardwalks. 

Images by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group

BiodiverCity supports a water, air and land-based autonomous public transportation network, aiming for a car free environment where streets serve as a safe and welcoming thoroughfare for bikers and pedestrians. Districts are efficiently connected below platforms to increase the efficiency of goods, services and regional mobility, while maximizing pedestrian safety throughout the public realm. 

BiodiverCity is BIG’s latest masterplan unveiling following Toyota Woven City at the CES conference earlier this year. Last year, BIG presented Oceanix City at the United Nations high-level roundtable on Sustainable Floating Cities, bringing together innovators, explorers, marine engineers and scientists at the UN Headquarters to share ideas and solutions to the threat faced by coastal cities and countries due to rising sea levels.

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

A sustainable paradise in Costa Rica

Patrick Rey + Gaia Studio – Origins Lodge

Immersed in Costa Rica’s mythic elements, Origins Lodge captures the wild opulence of nature along with Costa Rica’s pre-Columbian history.

Tucked up high on a mountainside with a 250° panoramic view of the valley, volcanoes and Lake Nicaragua, Origins is influenced by Costa Rica’s pre-Colombian circular architecture. With the passionate support of Origins’ owner, designers Patrick Rey and Hugues Blanchère modernized the honored antique philosophies and natural building techniques to create a place shaped by nature and tamed by low-impact

Bioclimatology is embodied in every aspect of this boutique resort. From the use of sustainable structural bamboo, adobe walls for humidity control, recycled bottles planted under the bungalows’ floors, to the natural air conditioning provided by the villa’s floating roof, the living roofs of the bungalows, and the minimal amount of dirt and trees removed during construction. In addition to this, as part of the overall design concept, we increased local vegetation by 75% through the planting of various plants to merge with the already well-established wild jungle  — thus going beyond simple sustainability to holistic integration.

The buildings’ exteriors were designed to meld with their natural surroundings, giving them their own identity and personality. Even the vegetation on the living roofs was selected after careful consideration of the neighboring trees, colors and sightline of each particular area. The interiors, on the other hand, were designed to enhance Origins’ overarching energys by defining each space through natural lighting, organic textures and artistic craftsmanship.

The curves of the six private bungalows echo the serpentine curves of the jungle. The bungalows include private hot plunge pools heated by wood fire on each terrace. Much attention was put into synergising the flow of nature in each bungalow: from using an operculum in the ceilings, to positioning each bungalow in a way that allows rainforest clouds to literally fill the room on certain days. Suspended amongst the treetops higher up on the mountainside, the 3-bedroom Villa Vertigo is the essence of raw luxury, exhibiting the use of aggregated raw materials handcrafted by local artisans exclusively for Villa Vertigo.

The design team implemented several traditional and indigenous techniques that are pillars of low-impact construction, thus making Origins an exceptional venue, where one can admire the fusion of creative engineering, sustainability and ingenuity.

Text description provided by the architects. 

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

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