Porta del Mare

The sea – the true soul of local life in Salerno –, the history of the place and Mediterranean nature are at the heart of a new residential and urban redevelopment project in this southern Italian city in the Campania region. Called Porta del Mare (Gate of the Sea) and designed by Lombardini22, the complex aims to be a model for a contemporary, international lifestyle while fully respecting Salerno’s historical identity. The plan is to build three apartment blocks, with a total of 183 housing units, in the old Marzotto factory area. Looking out across the sea, the complex will be immersed in local Mediterranean scrubland and provide a range of additional services, helping to transform the city by giving back areas to the locals and creating pedestrian precincts that form part of a broader regeneration goal.

The project integrates both the residential buildings and the service facilities (shops, restaurants and a park) in a design that draws on the concept of a stage with wings in which the different elements are in a dynamic relationship that blends into a single harmonious system combining the public and private dimensions. To ensure optimal comfort for the residents of Porta del Mare, R.c.m. Costruzioni, which is in charge of the project together with Milara, has chosen Mitsubishi Electric to supply more than 190 heat pumps.

These will be used to provide domestic hot water, heating and cooling in all the apartments, including the three penthouses. More specifically, for 117 apartments, the Mr. Slim + hybrid model was chosen, particularly because of the combined benefit of using a hydronic heat pump and multisplit system that makes it possible to produce hot water for domestic use and to heat a room. In summer, the heat extracted from the rooms can be recovered to produce hot water virtually free of charge. The Japanese company provided not only these products, but also the Wi-Fi MELCloud interfaces so the air conditioning can be controlled from a PC, tablet or smartphone.