The brand, part of Apostoli Group, has designed the Residence Santa Caterina residential complex in accordance with an innovative residential philosophy.
A residential development and an adjoining public park, covering a combined area of more than 17,000 sqm, both conceived under the same design approach: Residence Santa Caterina is not simply an innovative residential project designed in Verona by Escape Design, but a benchmark model, a trendsetter and a catalyst for best-practice approaches that extend beyond the boundaries of the built environment to shape the surrounding urban landscape.
Comprising more than 70 residential units – apartments and villas of varying sizes, some of which are still under construction – the Residence has been developed in accordance with the principles of organic architecture, whereby the design of both the building envelope and interiors merges with the surrounding environment, offering residents an authentic and conscious sense of wellbeing.
The various residential blocks, arranged across just two above-ground storeys and one basement level, have been deliberately expressed as essential volumes, permeated by greenery, supported by the absence of rigid boundaries between individual units. Spaces therefore flow seamlessly into one another, ensuring continuous visual relationships. The geometries of the built form draw inspiration from the surrounding landscape, adopting its colours, textures and materials, which are used consistently across both exterior and interior spaces.
Integration with the surrounding context is also reflected in design choices focused on energy and technological sustainability, supported by advanced home automation systems and integrated building systems.
For the principal heating, cooling and domestic hot water services, two distinct engineering solutions have been adopted. Some residential units are equipped with an integrated system comprising open-loop geothermal technology and a closed water-loop network, in which independent water-to-water heat pumps – supported by solar thermal panels – meet the required energy demand. These systems are complemented by radiant heating and cooling systems integrated with controlled mechanical ventilation, ensuring high levels of residential comfort and indoor air quality.
Other dwellings, by contrast, are served by air-to-water heat pump systems, with heating provided via underfloor radiant systems and summer cooling delivered through fan coil units, ensuring energy efficiency and comfort throughout the year.
For electricity generation – with each unit certified to Energy Class A4 – photovoltaic systems have been integrated into both flat and pitched roof structures.
Attention is also given to lighting design solutions: for both interior and exterior spaces, the residential units feature coordinated lighting elements designed to minimise visual impact, while in the common areas of the Residence a low-energy lighting system has been implemented, supported by dedicated photovoltaic supply, presence detection sensors, and activation based on data from an on-site meteorological system.
The Escape Design team, which has overseen every phase from feasibility studies through to detailed design and construction supervision, has also focused on the development of the entire landscaped area that completes the residential complex. Green roofs and strictly locally sourced plant species define a green corridor that originates within the development and extends into the surrounding countryside as far as the River Adige, merging seamlessly with the native flora.
Residence Santa Caterina thus stands as an experimental project promoting an innovative residential philosophy centred on wellbeing. It preserves both social interaction and the sense of community between households, while safeguarding the natural context as an integral component of the design identity.
Attention has also been directed towards the initiation of an urban regeneration process for the Forte di Santa Caterina – a late 19th-century fortification adjacent to the Residence and part of the city’s wider defensive system – promoted by the Municipality of Verona and funded by the European Union. This initiative aligns with the vision established by Escape Design’s residential development, with the aim of transforming an area of over 200,000 sqm into a sustainable and inclusive urban ecosystem, incorporating residential and social spaces: a dispersed village model.
