The “Passive House” Project, eight living units in Tuscany, embodied an innovative approach that brought SINTER praise and awards (the 2007 Vespucci Prize, for example). Indeed, the project demonstrated that it was possible to reach extremely high standards of energy efficiency at a low cost in latitudes where, for at least three months of the year, air conditioning is necessary, an approach nearly unique in a Middle-European context.

This outcome was the result of attentive architectural planning and design, the use of heavily insulated wall materials, the optimization of solar and photovoltaic panel usage, and the installation of a controlled system of mechanical ventilation.

The “high-tech” personality of these constructions was evident in an architectural language reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci’s machines.