ITC Innovation Technological Center

Discover the technological center inside the AEC Illuminazione Headquarters where all the research and development activities and testing of public lighting products are concentrated.

ITC is an innovation laboratory

The Innovation Technological Center is a futuristic structure within the AEC Illuminazione Headquarters where all the research and development activities are concentrated and where product tests are carried out. The birth of the Innovation Technological Center accompanies the company’s growth and marks the completion of its production structure, an area that currently covers 26.500 square meters.

An ambitious project

To design and build the new structure that would become the heart of the research and innovation of our products, AEC Illuminazione turned to the architecture studio SBGA Blengini Ghirardelli, an entity based in Milan with an international curriculum. The studio’s approach was based on the choice of simple and pure shapes, which reflected the company’s attention to design and the search for technologically advanced and eco-sustainable construction solutions.

We shape innovation.

This is where the future is born.

We shape innovation.

This is where the future is born.

Strict geometries

The lab, the heart of the project, is volumetrically composed of two parallelepipeds intersected with each other with a total area of 3000 square meters. This building was conceived as an ideal space for teamwork, which brings together technicians and researchers. Three levels of development. On the ground floor and the first floor – where tests and simulation experiments are carried out under extreme environmental conditions – there are a series of double and triple-height laboratories that intersect with mezzanines from which it is possible to safely control the test phases.

The role of light

These sharp and precise geometries, the formal cleanliness that touches the volumetric proportions and the full/empty relationships are also repeated on the third floor, where the bright research & development offices are located. The roof, moved by oblique and disassembled buttresses, also houses a skylight that conveys the light to the center of the workspace. Higher up, on the roof, are the technical systems and photovoltaic panels covered by a dark cornice that closes and completes the architectural discourse. All, built around the crucial role of light entering from large glass surfaces.

Inspired by nature

The relationship between the external and internal environment is crucial. The surrounding green landscape is interpreted as a resource to create a relaxing environment and improve the quality of life of workers. Large ribbon windows run on the west side of the building, at the double-height main entrance. The huge glass facade conveys a general sense of lightness, circulates natural light and welcomes the green of the Tuscan countryside that surrounds the AEC Illuminazione Headquarters

“The large windows convey a general sense of lightness, circulate natural light and welcome the green of the Tuscan countryside that surrounds the AEC Illuminazione Headquarters. Solutions designed to transform the very idea of a factory, to make it a place of socialization, well-being and space of excellence, both for researchers and visitors.”

Functional and eco-sustainable design

The north facade of the ITC Innovation Technological Center is made of “Dekton”, a technological material, highly resistant to UV rays, which protects the building while also guaranteeing high thermal insulation. With an area of 1000 square meters, the facade of the ITC is the largest wall ever built in Europe with this material. In the pursuit of extreme quality, it was decided to work in dry construction, with metal carpentry.

The leitmotiv of the project

“The building is conceived and designed to meet the needs of the particular type of work carried out inside it, but also in compliance with today’s environmental sustainability and energy efficiency requirements. Windows with thermal break structures and double glazing are used on the facades, which allow the achievement of a high index of thermal insulation: a clear request from AEC Illuminazione, which has always been very attentive to environmental sustainability.”

(Arch. Giuseppe Blengini)

A green open space

The Innovation Technology Center was designed as a spacious open area, featuring large well-lit spaces to maximize external natural light utilization. Additionally, the incorporation of solar panels and sustainable construction materials offers a fundamental embodiment of sustainability. This choice enables a decrease in resource consumption while simultaneously minimizing environmental impact. A green strategy that has consistently defined the corporate evolution of AEC Illuminazione.

The heart of the company

In front of the main entrance, a tensile structure creates a shadow zone and meeting area for employees and researchers. The redevelopment project of the area has extended to the rethinking of the pedestrian system. New walkways allow efficient connection axes in an area of over 5000 square meters. The connections to the pre-existing neighbouring pavilions, which house the production departments and the design and planning office, were thus optimized. The Innovation Technological Center has therefore become the innovative heart of the company, perfectly integrated within the Headquarters.

“A research center where to create innovation”

The innovative approach of AEC Illuminazione

The AEC product is the result of a multidisciplinary design study that is completed within the modern spaces dedicated to research and development and sophisticated testing laboratories, where safety and performance are tested by qualified and constantly updated personnel. The latest generation machinery, such as HP’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printer and the sophisticated automation processes that characterize AEC’s production units, is part of a modern and ambitious construction philosophy, which distinguishes AEC Illuminazione’s excellence in the sector.

Multi Jet Fusion additive 3D printer

Additive manufacturing has opened a whole new path in our projects.

Multi Jet Fusion additive 3D printer

Additive manufacturing has opened a whole new path in our projects.

Prototyping area

With 3D printing technology, there are no design constraints and this allows us to print any shape, speeding up the prototyping process.

Prototyping area

With 3D printing technology, there are no design constraints and this allows us to print any shape, speeding up the prototyping process.

Our goals:

Speed up research and development operations

Additive manufacturing has opened up a whole new path in our new product development projects, allowing us to reduce pre-prototyping time. The Multi Jet Fusion 3D printer allows us to quickly verify the design of our prototypes, significantly reducing design time. Thanks to this technology we can transform prototypes of revolutionary projects into tangible realities, at maximum speed.

Guarantee the highest quality standards

Everything in AEC Illuminazione is aimed at guaranteeing the highest quality standards. From a production that is not delocalized, but carried out in every phase within the Tuscan Headquarters, to the constant investments in machinery that allow us to give continuous impetus to research and development: all in order to create increasingly efficient and superior quality lighting fixtures.

Innovative and superior quality products

We aim for excellence, providing innovative and superior quality products. Precisely for this reason, we are always looking for new ways to create more and more efficient products. The investments made by the company are aimed at reducing design and construction times, to meet all the needs of the international market: investments that in recent years have allowed us to be advocates and forerunners of change.

“Everything in AEC Illuminazione is aimed at guaranteeing the highest quality standards. From a production that is not delocalized, but carried out in every phase within the Tuscan Headquarters, to the constant investments in machinery and laboratories, which allow to give continuous impetus to research and development.”

Research is the engine of innovation

In AEC Illuminazione we constantly invest in research and development to be creators and forerunners of change.

State-of-the-art laboratories

Inside the ITC Innovation Technological Center there are laboratories where all the tests required by the regulations in force are carried out, two photometric laboratories, where the staff perform certified photometric and radiometric measurements and numerous laboratories, where to carry out tests dedicated to research and development. The laboratories within the ITC are certified by a third party and under DEKRA and UL surveillance.

Innovation Technological Center

See where we create and test our innovations

Innovation Technological Center

See where we create and test our innovations