BIO-ARCHITECTURE: CAN PEOPLE LIVE IN CONNECTION WITH NATURE? AT LEFAY, THEY CAN.
Nature has always been an inspiring source for man: be it art, literature or, more recently, architecture, design and engineering. Precisely in nature there is an infinite variety of shapes, colours and structures; nothing that man can create, boasting imagination. Albert Einstein said that ‘Everything you can imagine, nature has already created’.
And if the architecture and design of the 20th century were characterised by avant-garde trends (such as Art Deco, Bauhaus, minimalism, up to digital and electrical technology at home), today we are starting back from Green: “sustainable” becomes “stylish” and designers must be capable of satisfying the ever-growing need to find solutions that protect the environment.
Since its foundation, sustainability has been one of the pillars of the Lefay Resorts & Residences Group, which was primarily demonstrated in the design phases of the facilities. In the sustainable concept of the buildings, each idea cannot be separated from its context. The individual elements are related to their surroundings and the “building system” interacts with the “nature system”. This balance is made up of resources, and this principle demonstrates, especially after the months of pandemic emergency, that the indoor-outdoor lifestyle is particularly relevant to promote health and well-being.
Precursor of this philosophy, in 2006 at the beginning of the works for Lefay Resort & SPA Lago di Garda, the Brand chose to place the Resort in one of the most beautiful and uncontaminated scenarios of our area – the Parco dell’Alto Garda (Upper Garda Park) – as well as the requirements to create an efficient building from a logistic and energy-oriented viewpoint: Lefay Resort & SPA Lago di Garda has not been designed as a single compact building, but features various individual units integrated in the hill slope and thus perfectly fitted to the morphological characteristics of the landscape.
The central building, extremely airy and bright, houses all the main services; the side buildings with the single units are scattered closely over a hillside. The peculiarity of this project has implied a substantial effort during the building phase as it required to move, handle and transport about 60,000 m³ of earth. However, these efforts have been repaid with a result far beyond expectations: as a matter of fact, the Resort is completely integrated in the surrounding landscape and the visual impact from the lake coast is far lower compared to the one of other pre-existing buildings of smaller size. As far as the architecture is concerned, we straightaway decided not to adopt a style featuring an innovative and trendy design, instead we took inspiration from the great private villas with their annexed lemon-houses, typical of the Upper Garda area, featuring stone and wooden pillars, used to raise lemon trees. The interior design also features natural local materials such as wood and Verona marble.
The same logic was applied at Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti, divided into three units: the Resort’s main services are located within the central body that strongly characterises the entire project and represents the iconographic “diamond” element of the Dolomites. The Resort is integrated into the surrounding landscape and, thanks to the inclusion in the morphology of the land with southern exposure, it enjoys solar radiation throughout the day.
As far as architecture is concerned, it is inspired by the local types of construction and materials, reinterpreted in a contemporary key.
The interior design features natural local materials: oak and chestnut wood and tonalite, Adamello’s symbolic stone.
A new luxury and wellness dimension that dialogues with surrounding nature.
