5/03/24
Saving an ancient tower dating back to 1161 from decay. This was the starting point of the project that led to the creation of the Capitolare Suite Tower: an exclusive luxury location born from the mind of Andrea Borlenghi, a 29-year-old entrepreneur with studies abroad and a career in the world of tech-startups.
The ancient tower that gives access to the beautiful village of Porto Venere is reborn as the world’s first luxury suite produced entirely in 3D, with Caracol’s LFAM technology.
Thanks to a private investment, the icon of the Ligurian village is moving towards a bright future. “We are ready to debut this architectural gem,” says Andrea, “we want to tell the story of the power of this medieval symbol, saved from decay and relaunched. Restoring it has been a pleasure. It’s in my nature. I find myself very much in Sergio Marchionne’s quote ‘I’m a fixer, it’s the only thing I know how to do’.”
The Capitolare Tower stands in the ancient village of Porto Venere and has always protected it as a defensive bulwark. Erected before the coming of Dante, before the discovery of America, at a time when pirates and sailing ships ruled the seas, today the tower takes a well-deserved rest to welcome travelers from all over the world.
After an in-depth conservative restoration work, carried out with materials derived from circular economy, the Capitolare team returned the millennial tower to the community. In this new guise, along with exclusive service and attention to detail, Capitolare stands as a benchmark for luxury, excellence, and uniqueness.
A suite on 4 levels, with private terrace and premium services: private chef for intimate dinners, spa and wellness, local food and wine products, excursions and yacht tours to visit the Ligurian sea. A true retreat for travelers in search of uniqueness and excellence.
There will be two souls of the Tower: a summer use as a luxury suite for high-end tourists, flanked by a winter use as a place of aggregation, available to cultural associations to carry out projects, readings, workshops and much more with free admission. Culture, history, business, with a focus on a young audience.
06 Torre Capitolare
07 Torre Capitolare
The realization of the furnishings and interior design details of the suite was possible thanks to the collaboration with Caracol, an innovative 3D printing company that has developed and patented a robotic system to produce large components and complex geometries, and with the designer Federica Cristaudo. The recurring theme is the movement of the sea, found in colors, materials and shapes. The particularity of the intervention comes from the mixture of 3D Printing in synergy with the applied arts dating back to the twelfth century.
The attention to the research of new materials is another point of interest: the bathroom sets are made with natural mortars produced with shell fragments and the furniture is entirely created with 3D printed recycled plastic, specifically recycled polypropylene with 30% glass fiber reinforcement.
The choice of 3D printing for the realization of the furniture was dictated by the desire to create a contrast between the thousand-year-old tower and the novelty of the technology used. In addition, the project is to renew the furniture every 5 years, recycling the previous ones, in a virtuous economy of closed loop and zero waste for decades to come.
The engineering and printing process used was provided by Caracol. The technology used is an advanced robotic additive manufacturing system that the company developed and patented for the production of components with complex geometries and large sizes. The extrusion system, mounted on a 6+ axis robotic arm, is fed with material in pellet (granule) format, making it possible to use a wide variety of materials, including those from recycled sources. The movement and control of the arm is done thanks to the integrated software platform developed by the company that allows to have great flexibility from CAD to the printing layout, as well as to control all the parameters of the process.
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