Waterfront di Levante – Genoa

Resstende and RPBW: A Four-Handed Collaboration for the Waterfront di Levante

The Resstende team designed and installed 1,280 motorized external roller blinds distributed across the four levels in the four buildings of the new ‘Waterfront di Levante’ residential complex in Genoa: 80 blinds per floor and 320 blinds per building.

The project, guided by the visionary insights of the RPBW – Renzo Piano Building Workshop and OBR – Open Building Research architectural firms, establishes a new landmark on Genoa’s waterfront, weaving together public and private urban and port functions. This ambitious development includes a large urban park, a new pier, residential buildings, offices, student housing, commercial spaces, an apart-hotel, and a new sports hall. The goal is to enhance open spaces overlooking the sea, with views that serve as an essential bridge between the city and the sea.

Architect Luigi Priano, Partner & Director of RPBW, comments: “One of the key principles defined in the Masterplan phase of the Waterfront project was the energy sustainability of the buildings. We know that solar shading can play a crucial role in reducing energy consumption. Resstende was chosen as the supplier due to the need to create a solar shading system capable of withstanding the extreme environmental conditions typical of the coastal location, ensuring durability and comfort on the terraces.”

In a fusion of design elegance with technological power, Resstende responded to the architectural firm’s requirement to maintain the facade’s geometry with the blinds both open and closed, preserving dimensional harmony between the fabric and the window frame. This required narrower blinds on the curved sides of the buildings, creating a visually rounded impression of the structure, even with the blinds lowered.

Among Resstende’s facade blinds, the Dallas 110 model stands out for its exclusive design and high technical performance. This model is specifically designed for external applications and perfectly suited for continuous facades, thus becoming an integral part of the building’s architecture. Due to its proven performance, the vertical Dallas 110 model with Traction Kit 60 was selected to shade the complex. The forced traction device provides effective tension to the fabric; thanks to the controlled energy of its gas pistons positioned within the round bottom bar, the system ensures greater stability for the blinds in outdoor environments, effectively countering wind forces.

The color of the structures, both the cassette and the bottom bar, is RAL 9006 gray, harmoniously integrated with the selected fabric tones: Sunscreen Satinè 5500 code 30M02. This fabric, made of 42% fiberglass and 58% PVC, has three threads in white, turquoise, and sand, offering a dual color effect: more blue on the outside and more gray on the inside. With an openness factor of 4%, the Sunscreen Satinè 5500 ensures excellent visual comfort, reducing solar glare and enhancing views of the surrounding landscape.

Angelo Furia, Senior Project Manager at Resstende, with the support of architect Simone Pesenti from the Resstende Technical Department, carefully assessed the architectural firm’s stylistic and performance requirements. Together, they developed a solution that combines both aspects, providing systems capable of withstanding wind forces and humidity due to the proximity to the sea.