The project is designed to encourage community life, by providing a digitally connected and sustainable space for different generations to live together.
Talk about smart cities, and images of futuristic cities bursting with state-of-the-art technology come to mind. But what if smart cities had more to offer than advanced technology? What if they could make our social fabric stronger by bridging the generation gap while easing the isolation of elderly people?
Enter Chorus Life, a project taking shape on the outskirts of Bergamo, Italy. Intergeneration living, but also environmental sustainability, and connectivity – all three lie at the core of Chorus Life’s vision.
The project is designed to encourage community life, by providing a digitally connected and sustainable space for different generations to live together – and Schindler technology is helping to bring this vision to life.
Eigthy apartments, a 110-room hotel, a multi-purpose arena to host events of all kinds, a food & beverage space, a shopping center, sports & wellness facilities, with green spaces all around – Chorus Life is a city in the city. All buildings are connected via GSM technology, making building access and property management a breeze. That connectivity extends to residences, whose appliances and energy-efficient devices can be programmed and monitored remotely from a phone.
Built according to the highest environmental and sustainable standards – Chorus Life will be powered by renewable electricity produced on-site – the project is a shining example of sustainable urban revitalization done right, with "zero" land consumption. It is part of a broader redevelopment project breathing new life into the now abandoned industrial outskirts of Bergamo to create an interconnected 70 000-m2 smart district marked by sustainability and inclusion.
The 39 elevators and 17 escalators supplied by Schindler are in keeping with the spirit of the project. Our modular Schindler 5000 and Schindler 3000 elevators come equipped with a regenerative drive, energy-efficient LED lighting and automatic stand-by mode, enabling energy savings of up to 30 percent compared to previous-generation Schindler elevators. Our Schindler 9300 escalators, for their part, ensure efficient and sustainable mobility, thanks to an innovative drive system and three ECO operating modes.
All these connected units will be integrated into the smart urban project’s network, making remote monitoring and maintenance possible – with all the sustainability benefits this entails. Designed with inclusion in mind, the elevators serving the Chorus Life district will feature buttons with Braille language and a voice synthesizer for people with disabilities.
Danilo Calabrò, CEO and General Manager of Schindler Italy, says: "We are proud to contribute with our mobility solutions to such a revolutionary and unique project, which we hope will soon be replicated in other cities around the world."