Multisensory Architecture and the new frontiers of Health Design
Multisensory Architecture and the New Frontiers of Health Design In our last article we told you about the flagship innovative project we are working on,
Projects and New Horizons for Zeprojects
Architecture, like any other expression and creative skill, is affected by what is happening in the world and in the depths of mankind, and for this reason it enacts innovations and transformations that are sometimes radical in order to design and build spaces that are increasingly functional to our lifestyles, needs, perspectives, dreams and ambitions.
Crucial are epochs and moments of transition, like the one we are experiencing now, as we enter a new cycle yet to be discovered, designed, invented, interpreted. In ancient traditions, these transitional phases had a symbolic, ritual and magical significance, as they marked important stages and changes comparable to initiation rites in the cycle of life.
At the dawn of the newborn 2023, we have chosen to tell you what has marked our history and our past year in terms of ideas, research and projects realized so far, and to anticipate how we are planning our new making of architecture, always keeping in mind, as Frank Lloyd Wright used to say, that the architect must be the original interpreter of his time, of his epoch, of his instant.
This was our intention when we chose to give body and soul to Zeprojects, wanting to create, transform, embellish spaces to accommodate the needs and aspirations of those who live in them, with the person at the centre, the fulcrum and metre of our construction.
We are working to realize a dream: to interpret the new humanism in architecture, combining creativity, functionality and aesthetic sense to improve people’s lives, and using the most original and innovative digital tools for this purpose.
When we started Zeprojects in 2019 with these assumptions, with our experience gained in almost 20 years of work in Italy and abroad, the world was experiencing the consolidation and evolution of some disruptive technologies that were beginning to make a difference in the main sectors of society.
The introduction of new and increasingly developed applications of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things were indeed enabling greater levels of customization, precision and reliability of services, but the world of architectural design was still a step behind these innovations.
With Zeprojects we then wanted to help realize the vision of a new architecture, which could also include and implement these cutting-edge skills, combining creativity and technological potential, culture, environmental ethics and sustainability.
We initially dedicated ourselves mainly to the Hospitality, Ho.Re.Ca., Retail, Tourism and Wellness sectors, but in 2020, with the advent of the pandemic, we had to broaden our horizons, as the restrictions and measures taken to counter the spread of the virus had rendered these sectors forcibly inactive.
As the world changed abruptly, we therefore tried to figure out how to employ our architectural know-how and concepts to address the most pressing problems of the moment, especially in the health sector.
It was in this scenario and for this purpose that we conceived the Zep, Zero Epidemic Point. It represented our concrete response to the Covid-19 emergency, which had put most of the healthcare facilities in the country in serious difficulty.
The Zep was the first antibacterial and eco-sustainable meta-temporal module, equipped with safe biological corridors to safeguard patients and staff, which can be used in support of hospital facilities, or placed as a neighbourhood urban health centre to offer a direct service to citizens.
A great success in the media as well, the Zep was also presented and well reviewed by newspapers such as Il Sole 24 Ore and Il Resto del Carlino.
Due to its unique features on the market, it was selected by the Irccs, the Romagna Institute for the Study of Tumours, to form the first safe antibacterial triage for cancer patients in Forlì. This complex, which was initially intended to be half-temporal, has become fixed and is now an integral part of the hospital, representing an important aid and strength.
Following this line, last year we then developed another pioneering project in the healthcare sector: a 3000 square metre state-of-the-art facility of the post-Covid era in the Emilian Apennines.
This is a new-generation nursing home that we believe embodies the necessary and no longer postponable shift in the healthcare paradigm.
Designed to meet post-pandemic needs, it is characterized by a hitherto unprecedented functional multiplicity, with maximum attention given to the safety and healthiness of the environment.
The project combines sustainable architecture and cutting-edge technology to offer users a social and health service of excellence, also contributing to the enhancement of the area.
Consisting of four large blocks joined by a central pavilion, it will house 75 beds dedicated to psychiatric patients and autonomous or semi-autonomous elderly users.
Guests will be able to benefit from a skillful articulation of spaces responding to the needs of the various categories of users, within a structure designed in interpenetration and symbiosis with the environment, with internal and external green paths.
Multi-functionality is always guaranteed through the Zep, which allows ease of assembly and reversibility as needed, while maintaining the stability and comfort typical of traditional construction.
We planned to combine it with IoT and AI (Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence) technologies, which will make the facility an advanced centre for telemedicine or remote medicine as well, for support that can be extended to the entire local population.
And so we come to today. We wanted to tell you a bit about our history and our projects, what has driven us to always seek something innovative and unique… but what do we now have in the pipeline for 2023?
In this new year, we want to build on the experience and skills we have acquired for the further development of the Hospitality and Residential, Ho.Re.Ca., Retail, Tourism, Sport and Wellness sectors.
In conjunction with the imminent opening of our new headquarters on the Romagna Riviera, we will also work on the redevelopment of tourist areas, which are often populated by obsolete accommodation buildings: if they are reinvented and modernized, they will be able to attract a large flow of visitors from both Italy and abroad.
We are studying various solutions for the enhancement of environments dedicated to hospitality, wellness & leisure, also in combination with business areas, considering the progressive increase in agile work, or rehabilitation, prevention and healthcare services. Indeed, we believe that hybrid and multifunctional structures represent one of the key themes of the new way of doing architecture, in response to changing habits and lifestyles.
We are also working to implement the formidable resources offered to us on several fronts by Augmented Reality and the Metaverse, which can exponentially expand the opportunities for development and revitalization of any type of structure and sector.
With a vast spectrum of applications, these tools represent the new frontier of technological innovation, so that companies or entrepreneurs who know how to use them in the best possible way will be able to stay ahead of the market, giving real added value to the services they offer their users.
In our vision, the most avant-garde technological innovation can in fact also be used in architectural design,virtual architecture, to better meet people’s needs, expand their proactive capacity to interact with environments, and help the production of quality services and goods.
In this perspective, an aspect that we consider particularly important for its social value is, for example, that of overcoming architectural barriers, precisely through the aid of digital technology.
To give you a foretaste of some of the projects we are working on: as Zeprojects, we will make available the possibility of exploring an accommodation facility even before you book your stay, walking through it and experiencing it from the inside as if you were physically there.
In this way, in addition to increasing its value on a commercial level, we will be able to expand the experience of universal design, a design for all, increasingly accessible to all. By means of virtual tours, we will also allow those with motor deficits to visit the location in advance, agree on possible adaptations of space and furnishings, and view and preview the equipment available.
We will use the Metaverse to allow immersive experiences of great multisensory impact, making the facilities more functional and inclusive, with increasingly creative and original applications that we will continue to tell you about in future posts.
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