{"id":11815,"date":"2022-05-04T11:49:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T11:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valcucine.com\/magazine\/?p=11815"},"modified":"2022-05-06T13:33:46","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T13:33:46","slug":"a-good-new-life-for-buildings-and-their-inhabitants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valcucine.com\/magazine\/en\/2022\/05\/a-good-new-life-for-buildings-and-their-inhabitants\/","title":{"rendered":"A good, new life for buildings and their inhabitants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Interview with Alessandro Bisagni, a pioneer in sustainable architecture<\/em>.<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Alessandro Bisagni, LEED Fellow designation for constructing eco-compatible buildings all over the world<\/em>.<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The abbreviation is abstruse (EPDB, which stands for Energy Performance of Building Directive) but the meaning of this important EU directive for homes is clear: buildings are key to our continent\u2019s ecological transition, a fundamental piece of the puzzle being put together to achieve the New Green Deal goals by 2030.  With an eye on the utopia of new cities and another one on the buildings already existing in Italy – defined by the latest annual energy efficiency report published by ENEA (Agency for new technologies, energy and the environment) as being obsolete and in desperate need of renewal \u2013 we are going to talk with a pioneer in the field of sustainable architecture: Alessandro Bisagni, 37 years old, a University degree in Sustainable Economy and Urban Geography, an American wife, two twin girls and the creator of a company<\/a> in Hong Kong with 57 employees spread out in 10 different offices.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alessandro is obtaining significant acknowledgments all over the world, such as being awarded the rare LEED fellow designation for constructing eco-compatible buildings characterised by energy and water savings, reduced CO2 emissions and improvements in the ecological quality of interiors.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dear Alessandro, I am intrigued by your long professional career dotted with many awards notwithstanding your youth.  <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I’ve come a long way. I was born in La Spezia, in Liguria.  My father was a bank executive who was moved consistently from one branch to another all over the world. One day we arrived in Hong Kong. I attended high school in this gateway to the east and was surprised to find a course on sustainability in my curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a long time ago?<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m talking about the year 2001, twenty years ago. In the East sustainable building – as well as ecology – was already taught in urban geography lessons. My subsequent thesis (in Canada at the McGill University) had a meaningful title: “Economically assessing how to construct a sustainable building<\/em>“. When doing research for my thesis it became clear to me that there were many factors to be considered when designing an eco-sustainable building. This was a very important time for me: I owe my discovery of various ways to assess a building to obtain LEED certification to this study period, and it is still the most authoritative and globally-acknowledged system for the green building industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I arrived in Shanghai in 2006 – in the studio of Jesa, an Italian company founded by Saro Capozzoli – to help Made in Italy businesses export services and products for the environment to the extensive market that was incessantly growing in China. I learned a lot from them. This wealth of knowledge became fundamental for me when I started working for Arup, a British multinational engineering and design company with branch offices in Italy. Arup<\/strong> was founded by Ove Nyquist Arup (1895-1988), a brilliant and visionary engineer who worked in the shadow of great architects: it was the first company to have ever put the design of an eco-city<\/em> in a single package at the top of its list<\/strong>. At that moment in time the LEED <\/a>system became the go-to guide to construct green buildings. And I perfected my knowledge about that system when I was working for Arup. One day the proposal of a South African businessman, Grant Horsfield<\/strong>, landed on Arup\u2019s desks. He wanted to build a hotel in an economically-depressed<\/strong> area where the only assets on the territory were the spontaneous growth of bamboo plants and the mountain skyline.  The challenge this visionary businessman presented to us was to create a special, top-notch, platinum LEED hotel at the foot of the Mogan Mountain<\/strong>, at a three-hour driving distance from the centre of Shanghai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Grant Horsfield.<\/em><\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s explain this LEED mechanism in layman\u2019s terms.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This eco-certificate can only be granted after subjecting a building to in-depth and complex assessments. A building is rated and given points (or credits) depending on the following points: 1) location and transportation; 2) integrative process; 3) water metering; 4) sustainable environments; 5) energy and atmosphere; 6) materials and resources; 7) indoor environment quality; 8) innovation; 9) regional priority. This assessment gives rise to four certification categories which are,  in order of importance: a) Platinum LEED certificate (from 80 to 110 marks); b) Gold (from 60 to 79 marks); c) Silver (from 50 to 59 marks) and d) the basic LEED certification (from 40 to 49 credits).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let\u2019s go back to Shanghai.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arup refused to follow up on that request. I am a traveller, and I always travel with a question that guides me in my quest. I offered Grant Horsfield my services as a consultant and he was delighted to accept. We developed an energetically-virtuous, eco-friendly project for a hotel that was by far more sustainable than its competitors.<\/strong>  That\u2019s how the Naked Stables<\/a> hotel complex was born in Moganshan, in a backdrop of mountains and forests. Its unusual name combines intelligence and irony, just like the person who invented it. And it turned out to be a lucky name to boot. There is now a chain of five luxury resorts in China that aims at communicating with their guests\u2019 souls and at opening their hearts up to appreciate uncontaminated nature. And this inevitably creates economical benefits for the locals. An impossible mission has been accomplished: there is no need to compromise on luxury to reach sustainability.<\/strong> Just think that, as well as travellers, the Naked Stables hotels accommodate many well-to-do families from Shanghai that have fled from the urban jungle to reconcile themselves with nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n