This residential complex consists of two apartment buildings, for a total of 22 apartments, in the municipality of Mezzolombardo, in the province of Trento. This town is located in a valley at an altitude of 225 m, where there is relatively little snow in winter. The climate is similar to that of the nearby city of Trento (20 km). The Adamello-Brenta Natural Park with the Fai della Paganella and Andalo ski resorts is 14 km away. The buildings are located in a recently extended residential area, in the precious vineyards of Piana Rotaliana, which Cesare Battisti described as “the most beautiful vineyard in Europe”. The client set a series of qualifying objectives for the construction, including: CasaClima energy certification, ensuring sufficient comfort in both winter and summer, healthy interiors and a good level of acoustic insulation.
The solutions and materials were chosen after a careful evaluation of the technical performance and environmental characteristics. For the external walls, porous bricks with the addition of wood flour and a 12 cm wood fibre external cladding were used, with 2 overlapping panels (6+6 cm) of different densities. In particular, a first extra porous panel was used, with excellent thermal resistance and easy workability, and a second panel, with a higher density, which can be plastered and has a high heat storage capacity. This solution allows installation without cold bridges and gives the wall excellent properties in terms of thermal insulation, phase shift, heat wave damping and noise reduction. The roof is made with a pine structure, locally produced, with 18 cm of wood fibre insulation. Particular attention was paid to the installation and sealing of a vapour barrier to guarantee correct air tightness. The whole is finished with a special foil that allows vapour diffusion. The roof is covered with ceramic slate tiles, which are very durable and impermeable and have a high mechanical and frost resistance. The colour, grey with iridescent hues, was deliberately chosen to recall the hues of the surrounding rock walls. The floor slab above the underground garage is insulated with a high-strength wood fibreboard suitable for withstanding high stresses and as a thick insulating layer. For the other floor slabs, 3 cm impact sound insulation panels were used, which are placed under the underfloor heating system. Thanks to a special production process, these panels offer both high compressive strength and an excellent level of insulation against the sound of footsteps. In order to guarantee excellent thermal and acoustic comfort, the walls of the stairwell were also insulated with wood fibre panels placed in the cavity. Windows and doors are made of larch, on the inside in natural wood and on the outside clad in white aluminium. The windows have high-performance glazing, with double low-emission glass filled with argon gas, with thermally optimised plastic spacers (warm-edge). For the interior finishing, natural lime plasters, porcelain stoneware floors and oiled wood were chosen. The materials used have internationally recognised environmental certifications. For the heating, an underfloor heating system was chosen that guarantees ideal comfort in winter temperatures and a higher efficiency of the condensing boiler, which is controlled by an external probe and centralised for the two buildings. In addition, the temperature in the apartments is regulated by room sensors, making the system efficient and versatile. There is a heat meter so that each home is heated separately.
Due to the excellent results, the building has, in addition to a CasaClima certification, an energy class A and a Sincert certification. It is worth mentioning that the owners of the homes already sold and in use are extremely satisfied with the very low heating costs, the comfort in winter due to the homogeneous and pleasant temperature, and in summer, without the need for air conditioning, and with the minimal noise pollution in the building.
The construction of this residential complex is proof that energy efficiency, living comfort and a healthy interior are not a privilege, but are possible for everyone.
Immediately available, ground floor apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, small garden and garage 280,000, first floor apartment with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and garage 360,000 euros, penthouse with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and garage 395,000 euros, possible to basement or double garage at extra cost. New build apartments, subject to VAT, 10% for a second home. Total additional purchase costs approximately 16%.
