Immersed in the suburban landscape of Ferrara, a three-family residence designed by architect Leonardo Degli Esposti stands out. It is contemporary, geometric and, at the same time, articulate and essential. A distinctive feature of the architecture is the dichotomy between light and dark in the building's ceramic envelope. Degli Esposti intersects various volumes, creating an interesting interplay of veils and overhangs, making the elevations expressive and original.

The envelope stands out not only for its aesthetics, but also for its high energy efficiency. This is why the designer and client shared the choice of the technical solution of the ventilated facade, realised with Isotec Parete by Brianza Plastica.

Isotec Parete is an insulation system that is dry-applied, by means of dowels, to any substrate. Consisting of a high-performance rigid polyurethane foam insulating core into which a steel perforated stiffener is inserted directly during production, it can accommodate and support any cladding, from the lightest to the heaviest materials such as, in this case, large-format ceramics.

For the three-family residence in Ferrara, Isotec Parete insulation panels in 80 and 120 mm thicknesses were chosen for all the facades of the building, in order to give continuity to the technical laying solution, in a functional and practical manner. In fact, the load-bearing metal substructure, which the Isotec Parete system creates thanks to the metal stiffener inserted in the panel, with a single laying step at the same time as the insulation layer, is extremely practical, also for the management of the geometries of the multi-format cladding. To the metal stiffener, here chosen in black to obtain an elegant effect of invisibility of the substructure, the stoneware slabs in the colours cream and anthracite have been anchored by means of metal clamps, inserted in the kerf cuts of the ceramic.

In addition to its function as a support for the exterior wall layer, the system's metal support serves to create a ventilation chamber within which a flow of air is activated, bringing benefits in all seasons of the year: in winter it facilitates the elimination of humidity and in summer it facilitates the flow of warm air upwards, preserving the insulation from extreme workloads due to solar radiation.

From the energy point of view, thanks to the high thermal performance of the polyurethane foam of which Isotec Parete is made (declared thermal conductivity of 0.022 W/mK), thanks to the continuous laying of the insulation, which eliminates the risk of thermal bridges, and to the other technical and plant engineering solutions provided by the project, the building has reached the highest energy class (A4) offering living comfort with very low energy consumption.