iGuzzini Lab

Responsible design For a company dealing with light, the theme of environmental responsibility towards energy consumption acquires a role that is ethical but also strategic from an entrepreneurial point of view. Well aware of how each step in a production cycle and during the life of a product always implies an energetic investment, iGuzzini Illuminazione is - already for a long time - behaving in a very tactful way. The company has turned sustainability and intelligent lighting into the center theme for its research and innovation approach that involves not only products but also the company as a whole. Already back in 1995-1996, the company respected (and anticipated) the most serious regulations as it is proven by the offices designed at that time by Mario Cucinella. Now iGuzzini’s attention towards this theme has been further confirmed by the latest building designed by Maurizio Varratta to answer to the needs of the Research Center and to the training requirements of the company that each year hosts approximately 2500 people. Structured around a central areas with an auditorium, the building hosts an explicatory set up that illustrates the history of the company as well as labs where to demonstrate lighting experiments, rooms and multimedia spaces for lectures and conference In designing iGuzzini Lab, Maurizio Varratta has worked both on the architecture and on the consumption performance in order to minimize the environmental impact of the building. There is a façade with a double glass layer and a green rooftop that together provide excellent insulation both in the summer and in the winter. But also an energy system based on geothermal exchange and a generating fotovoltaic one. The approach made it possible for the building to obtain a 3.5 score on the Sustainable Building Challenge protocol by iiSBE, the best result ever obtained amongst office buildings in Italy. It is not surprising then to see that the inner covering are all made of Marazzi ceramics. Realized in plants featuring technologically advanced production lines, Marazzi materials offer excellent chemical and physical performance that ensures stability through time and reduced maintenance. They are also made using large quantities of recycled materials, issued from previous production processes. Extreme function, great formal elegance, maximum environmental responsibility: all values that inform the whole project and that are laid out throughout the building, wholly covered with 60x60 and 30x30 cm module, Grigio Scuro (dark gray color) from the Marazzi Tecnica SistemT collection.