ODUElab was established, where architecture and neuroscience work together for the well-being of people in the built environment

Presented at Futura EXPO, the new project arose from the synergy between DVArea and Strobilo, two companies with roots in Brescia that have pooled their skills to design living spaces that are more focused on personal well-being through the collection and monitoring of data.

Discoveries in neuroscience have now produced an enormous amount of knowledge on the relationship between the body-brain system and the space in which we are immersed. Places and learning processes, a profound relationship for thinking about the cities of the future. ODUElab arose from the synergy of two well-established companies both with roots in Brescia.

DVArea, an innovative hub in the construction industry, rooted in design and with an eye on ecological and digital transition. Strobilo, at the forefront of using the most advanced neuroscience techniques in combination with AI to study the relationship between humans and the planet. A constructive union of forces and resources that takes shape in a project with a common goal: to propose innovative and regenerative solutions to support people’s well-being and balance with the surrounding environment. The operation came about as part of the development and research activities of CSMT, the Innovative contamination hub in Brescia.

Project priorities

ODUElab is already at work guiding interventions in different areas and building types, as well as in the open spaces of the city. The consortium is designed for new construction, redevelopment, upgrading, and interior and landscape design.

At the top of the list of identified priorities is the improvement of air quality in schools. The issue of comfort within school buildings is of paramount importance both for the health of the occupants and for their learning. The latter is in fact closely linked to the quality of the indoor environment, especially to indoor heat/humidity comfort. To date, monitoring is underway in two school districts in the Province of Brescia for which the first improvement actions will be implemented over the coming months.

ODUElab, regenerative design

Measuring and designing people’s well-being. Regenerative design is ODUElab’s approach to implementing sustainability through a joint action on environment and people, analysing and improving the way they influence each other. The outdoor and indoor environmental conditions of a building, i.e. any place we live and inhabit, are directly responsible for our psychophysical well-being, even if they are not tangible.

About us

CSMT. This is a research centre, in the form of a mixed public/private consortium, a non-profit impartial entity, established in Brescia in December 2006 located on the University of Brescia campus. A space for the development and contamination of ideas, a physical place for meeting and discussing, where research centres, academic and business laboratories and innovative companies are located. An Innovative contamination hub that creates, enhances and develops resources and projects together with its stakeholders, bringing together expertise from academia and research, spin-offs and start-ups, companies, associations and institutions. A benchmark for innovation aimed at economic, environmental and social sustainability. Its network works together to develop new projects, disseminating a systemistic culture and innovative solutions, in a co-working space. With these intentions CSMT is the natural venue, the ideal humus, for the creation of new initiatives. It is therefore natural that ODUElab chose to be established, grown and developed within this hub, so as to benefit from a stimulating and innovative environment.

DVArea. This is the first Italian design services company to set itself up as a benefit company, with a sustainable business model that emphasises the environment and community, thus validating the social vocation of this discipline. From the hotel industry, thinking about the new infrastructure for the 2026 Olympics, to new residential complexes with hundreds of dwellings redeveloping disused industrial areas, the mantra is to bring innovation into the supply chain by integrating different competences, to give strength to architecture. Design, digital, consulting and investment are the four areas of DVArea where DVision Architecture, DVS dedicated to structures, DVMEP for facilities, Bimfactory for digitisation consulting and again the PDVA consortium come together to deal in a structured manner with orders that require a more dimensionally appropriate task force.

Strobilo. This is a tech company that uses state-of-the-art neuroscience techniques in combination with AI to study the relationship between humans and planet earth, starting with monitoring indoor air quality and assessing the current and future effects on people’s health. With the help of machine learning and artificial intelligence, the goal is to create a better environment by uncovering the invisible wires that connect humans to the planet.

The operating model is based on the ability to relate data from humans – retrieved via electroencephalography – and environmental data within a platform; the latter data are read via a device of our own manufacture, which is extraordinarily scalable.

The device named “Strobilus” is a data logger with advanced technology on board that allows it to sample 15 different environmental dimensions, from CO2 saturation to particulate matter, from Volatile Organic Compounds to temperature, GPS and so on. The intention is precisely to capture a symbolic snapshot, moment by moment, of the complex reality that surrounds human beings and to establish a numerical relationship with it.

Hence the value of prediction: by measuring the environment alone, we are able to predict what the behaviour will be and use this data not only to correct any anomalies, but to design the spaces of the future.