This is a design proposal for the new Pacchiosi hotel in Parma, following the idea of a pleasant contrast between the shapes of an historic building and contemporary furnishings.
First of all, I don't want to say that the design for an historic building must absolutely blend in with history ... we should do as Wittgenstein, that is to realize that history is the ground on which we walk every day but that, once considered the historical origin of the artifact, it is good to put it aside and take a critical distance from it to design in the contemporary, that is to throw away the staircase after climbing on it. But we have to walk this ladder, because everyone has his presence visible. The goal of the rooms is the total relax. While for our ancestors the stress was an instrument of survival, because everything was against the threat of predators, in the modern world the stress is associated more than anything to threats not only physical but the wear and tear of the Contemporary life (work, interpersonal relationships, financial ...). Once the threat is over, our body remains in alert and in constant anxiety. What is relaxation? (At the scientific level). Relaxation consists of: - decreased respiratory rate and respiratory cycle regulation; Reduction of oxygen consumption; Increased skin resistance; Decreased heart rate; Decreased skeletal muscle tone; Increase in the level of Alpha waves.
The physiological characteristics of the relaxation reaction essentially consists of an overall decrease in the intensity of excitation of the sympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system and an increase in the activity of the parasympathetic component, manifested through: variations of the autonomic functions ( Decreases blood pressure and heart rate, reduces pupillary diameter, decreases sweating and increases the motor and secret activity of the gastro-intestinal system); Central nervous variations (increased EEG timings and skeletal muscle hypotonia, variations in the behavior of the experience and consciousness).
With collaborators as Gianluca Signaroldi and Andrea Treu. Hotel Parma
