Projects

Centro Wellness .618 - Verano Brianza (MB) - Verano Brianza (Italy)

An oasis of well-being for body and mind

In Verano Brianza, a project led by Ettore Lariani has transformed an industrial building into a multifunctional wellness centre
Автор
Francesco Pagliari
Фото
Vito Corvasce
Проект
Studio Lariani
Дизайнер интерьера
Ettore Lariani
Год реализации
2009

In the industrial area of Verano Brianza, a town north of Monza, a building previously used as a warehouse has been given a new lease of life through a conversion project to create a «multifunctional wellness centre», called «.618 Wellness». The aim is to create an oasis for mental and physical restoration featuring a brightly-lit gym with sports equipment, swimming pools and a Thermarium inspired by ancient thermal baths.
The Ettore Lariani architectural studio developed an overall strategy for conversion of the industrial building. While accepting the external form of the building shell, consisting of a regular parallelepiped-shaped geometric structure with an open-plan layout, the architectural project involved cladding the existing walls externally in order to achieve good heat insulation and solve the problems of energy expenditure while maintaining an ideal internal microclimate.
Of the total site area of 4,400 square metres, the area adjacent to the building is set aside for parking. The building itself is surrounded by vegetation and decorative pools and enhanced by an external colour scheme consisting of a combination of pleasant warm tones. Two different systems are used for natural lighting: opaque strip windows on the ground floor and transparent windows on the upper floor. Inside, the open-plan layout of the existing building has been reformulated using a square modular grid to allow the spaces devoted to the various activities to be differentiated. The interiors were also designed by Lariani as the project required a high degree of coordination to ensure that the architectural complex as a whole would project a uniform message. The project also included lighting, graphic design and creation of a Wellness Centre logo that would identify a facility inspired by the concept of well-being.
The remodelled building extends over two floors and has a total surface area of 2,000 sq.m. The spaces open and expand out, introducing into dual-height areas so that a dynamic vision predominates within the building, intersecting walls and spaces and creating unusual views with a strong sense of directionality reflecting the continuity of the ceiling structure and the utilities, which are left exposed to view.
The most distinctive element of the interior spaces is the use of ceramic porcelain tiles for the floors and walls (Pyper and Smoking collections from Aquileia), especially in the wet zones. The small-format tiles help to determine the quality of the spaces, creating extensive surfaces over entire walls or areas that alternate with plasterwork. The artificial lighting shimmers on the closely-knit pattern of the floor tiling, creating dynamic plays of light. Bold colours reflect the functional differences of the spaces; the walls and seats in the saunas are all tiled in a warm grey colour; and the shower and bathroom areas, featuring an accentuated cylindrical volume for the washbasins, are defined by the relationship between the dark coloured wall and pale coloured floor.

Керамические поверхности
1,7x7,8 cm

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