Next year, skincare brand Comfort Zone will open its new €25m (US$28.1m, £19.5m) headquarters in Parma, Italy, creating what chair Davide Bolatti calls a “house for sustainable beauty”.
Bolatti is passionate about the ways in which beauty, innovation and architecture intersect – and about creating sustainability in each of those areas.
The Matteo Thun-designed über-green headquarters will cover 11,000sq m (118,400sq ft) and is dubbed Davines Village after Comfort Zone’s parent company. When completed towards the end of 2017, Davines Village will feature a skin bar where visitors can try Comfort Zone’s products, education zones and the company’s development laboratories – all set around a greenhouse and organic gardens, which will provide food for a central organic restaurant, as well as plants for the skincare products.
Traditionally, Parma is an agricultural region and Bolatti says he wanted the architecture to reflect that. But he also wanted to create an even more environmentally-friendly building and to foster quality of life for his employees. “We have a humanistic approach,” he explains. “It’s an approach that puts people at the centre.”
He chose Thun to design Davines Village because of his record of creating buildings with low carbon emissions and integrating buildings into the landscape.
“I learned the hard way that you don’t change a lot when it comes to architects – especially when they’re ‘archi-stars,’” says Bolatti. “It’s better to choose the one that already has your sensibilities and that’s what we did with Matteo.”
The headquarters will house one of the biggest geothermal systems in Italy, says Bolatti, and will also make use of solar energy.
“We’re trying to get as close as possible to decarbonising the factory,” Bolatti explains. He worked with a sustainability engineer to conduct a thorough review, and while it’s difficult to decarbonise a factory completely, Bolatti says: “We’re getting close.”
But Bolatti’s quest for sustainable beauty does not stop there. He’s also created the iSustainBeauty campaign, which is now in its second year and set to double in size. With a simple goal of making the world a more beautiful place, the movement focuses on small social, environmental and artistic ventures that do just that.
“This goes beyond corporate social responsibility; it goes to the core of sustainability,” he says.
This year, Bolatti expects the programme to fund about 100 projects globally, from reworking an abandoned village garden to opening a beauty school in an underprivileged neighbourhood to restoring a heritage church.
“The idea is to make the world a more beautiful place through local projects,” says Bolatti. “Because beauty can make all the difference.”
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
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Ask an expert: Visiting practitioners
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Next year, skincare brand Comfort Zone will open its new €25m (US$28.1m, £19.5m) headquarters in Parma, Italy, creating what chair Davide Bolatti calls a “house for sustainable beauty”.
Bolatti is passionate about the ways in which beauty, innovation and architecture intersect – and about creating sustainability in each of those areas.
The Matteo Thun-designed über-green headquarters will cover 11,000sq m (118,400sq ft) and is dubbed Davines Village after Comfort Zone’s parent company. When completed towards the end of 2017, Davines Village will feature a skin bar where visitors can try Comfort Zone’s products, education zones and the company’s development laboratories – all set around a greenhouse and organic gardens, which will provide food for a central organic restaurant, as well as plants for the skincare products.
Traditionally, Parma is an agricultural region and Bolatti says he wanted the architecture to reflect that. But he also wanted to create an even more environmentally-friendly building and to foster quality of life for his employees. “We have a humanistic approach,” he explains. “It’s an approach that puts people at the centre.”
He chose Thun to design Davines Village because of his record of creating buildings with low carbon emissions and integrating buildings into the landscape.
“I learned the hard way that you don’t change a lot when it comes to architects – especially when they’re ‘archi-stars,’” says Bolatti. “It’s better to choose the one that already has your sensibilities and that’s what we did with Matteo.”
The headquarters will house one of the biggest geothermal systems in Italy, says Bolatti, and will also make use of solar energy.
“We’re trying to get as close as possible to decarbonising the factory,” Bolatti explains. He worked with a sustainability engineer to conduct a thorough review, and while it’s difficult to decarbonise a factory completely, Bolatti says: “We’re getting close.”
But Bolatti’s quest for sustainable beauty does not stop there. He’s also created the iSustainBeauty campaign, which is now in its second year and set to double in size. With a simple goal of making the world a more beautiful place, the movement focuses on small social, environmental and artistic ventures that do just that.
“This goes beyond corporate social responsibility; it goes to the core of sustainability,” he says.
This year, Bolatti expects the programme to fund about 100 projects globally, from reworking an abandoned village garden to opening a beauty school in an underprivileged neighbourhood to restoring a heritage church.
“The idea is to make the world a more beautiful place through local projects,” says Bolatti. “Because beauty can make all the difference.”
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Top team: Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat
The people behind this world-renowned lifestyle retreat share their business insights with Julie Cramer. Plus a focus on co-investor Hugh Jackman
Ask an expert: Visiting practitioners
Done well, visiting practitioner programmes can boost profits by up to 40 per cent. But how can spas get the offer right? Kate Parker investigates
Promotional feature: Esadore - creating a splash
The MD of Esadore International, Theodora Kioussis, explains how the company’s creative, manufacturing and operational skill sets can bring an international managing director
of UAE-based esadore International to life in a short space of time
A recent survey by the UK Spa Association (UKSA) into the industry’s approach to cancer care
has revealed that almost half of participating respondents (46 per cent) are unaware that
cancer is a disability and guests with a cancer diagnosis must be given
Mexican operator, Solmar Hotels and Resorts, is hosting a series of events in celebration of
Global Wellness Day, including a Temazcal ceremony at its Playa Grande Resort and Spa in Los
Cabos.
Mandarin Oriental has announced a standalone residence brand, Mansions, which will debut at
Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental Mansions, Abu Dhabi, in 2029.
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
The Wellness Founded in 2007, headquartered in Dubai and based in Hong Kong and Singapore, The Wellness is an int [more...]
