Renovation and new acoustic test laboratories
Caimi & F_Studio+F_Studio+ by Arch. Davide Friso, with the acoustic technical support from CAIMI Lab, has overseen the design and realization of the renovation works, energy upgrading, and establishment of the new Laboratories (Open, LAB, Academy, and Research); an avant-garde project in the acoustic field, unparalleled globally for its specificity, materialization of the specialized contribution of various professionals and firms, especially in its central core: the Anechoic Chamber and the Reverberation Chamber.
On September 16, 2020, the OPEN LAB was inaugurated, a complex consisting of seven acoustic laboratories specifically dedicated to theoretical and applied research in the field of acoustics and sound.
In 2021, the CAIMI OPEN LAB Laboratories were selected among the deserving projects in the ADI Design Index 2021; the following year, in 2022, the design of the CAIMI OPEN LAB Laboratories was awarded an Honorable Mention at the XXVII Compasso d´Oro ADI 2022.
Premio XXVII Compasso d’Oro ADI 2022
Menzione d’Onore
Laboratori CAIMI OPEN LAB
ADI Design Index 2021
Menzione d’Onore
Laboratori CAIMI OPEN LAB
Among the numerous publications and recognitions, we highlight the prestigious article published in Corriere della Sera on February 26, 2020, in Cittadino della Brianza on February 19, 2020, in the architecture and design magazine ABITARE No. 608 in October 2021, and the prestigious award at the Sala della Promoteca in the Campidoglio in Rome at the Regula Prize, 7th Edition (December 19, 2025), a prize recognizing the 100 best Italian projects worldwide, with publication in a specific volume by RD Editore Rome.
The initial core of the CAIMI OPEN LAB Laboratories also appears in recent publications, including Il suono and Essere design, published by SKIRA in 2018, edited by Aldo Colonnetti. In 2024, the catalog Feeling Good – CAIMI Design for the Future, published by the ADI Design Museum in Milan and curated by Aldo Colonnetti, Valentina Fisichella, and Luciano Galimberti, was released, in which the new laboratories form the cornerstone of the research, experimentation, and development context for the future.
In 2020, on the occasion of EXPO 2020 Dubai, based on the complex research, studies, prototyping, and experiments conducted in the CAIMI LAB laboratories, Caimi Brevetti created the prestigious and unique installation titled "The Landscape of Silence" at the Italy Pavilion. This installation featured a tunnel outfitted with 800 sound-absorbing elements from the Flat collection, arranged and presented in a specific and scientific manner.
In the CAIMI LAB Laboratories, every detail of the project has been studied with the utmost specificity in terms of functionality, typology, structure, and systems (both electrical and mechanical), as well as regarding the intrinsic characteristics of the materials and all the smallest components of the project.
The Open Lab laboratories are also available to universities, research institutes, foundations, organizations, and artists, who can use them free of charge for studies and research aimed at identifying new solutions to improve the health and psychophysical well-being of individuals.
Arch. Davide Friso has coordinated the work of a complex team of engineers, geologists, electrical and mechanical systems experts, who worked on the project; the acoustic aspects were managed by CAIMI Lab.
This realized project is now the culmination and reflection of CAIMI BREVETTI´s continuous and ongoing pursuit, with which F_Studio+ has been collaborating for years in architectural design: the 70 years of this esteemed company have not just been a passage of time, but a long ""story,"" which this prestigious and complex achievement underscores even more, with four fundamental pillars around which the company´s coming years will revolve, centered on research, knowledge, development, and design: IDEA, RESEARCH CENTER, NO PROFIT RESEARCH, and ACADEMY (for professional training).
The 70 years of CAIMI BREVETTI have not simply been the passage of time, but a long ""story"" of work, projects, ideas, and courage. Only within this perspective does one understand the rationale behind an advanced laboratory like the one just created. For us, research, experimentation, and continuous improvement are not just words, perhaps overused in today´s context, but they represent the soul of this company, its aforementioned ""story."" The long narrative of life can only confirm this – without research and innovation, there can be no product, design, or industry.
To continue this narrative, the decision was made for the laboratories to arise in the very place where the company was born, where the first machines started production, where the industriousness and ingenuity of its founder took the initial anticipatory steps of the successes that followed.
These laboratories, aimed at acoustic research, experimentation with new materials, and design prototyping, will be the control center of CAIMI´s future programmatic strategy, the forge of ideas, and the opening to society and the market, and it´s no coincidence that they will bear the name Open Lab.
The operation of the Open Lab laboratories, however, will not be exclusive to CAIMI. In line with the company´s inherent social sensitivity from its inception, they will constitute a NO PROFIT structure made available free of charge to Universities, Research Institutes, Foundations, and Organizations for studies and research, particularly in the fields of sound and acoustics and beyond, in order to identify new solutions for improving the health and psychophysical well-being of individuals.
Open Lab: open-mindedness, openness to the world, openness to the future. We come from afar. We look far ahead.
OPEN: Where research opens to non-profit
Open Lab opens its doors and spaces, providing them free of charge to universities, institutions, and researchers, promoting non-profit research and the sharing of knowledge related to the psychophysical well-being of individuals, in order to define new models of excellence and cutting-edge solutions.
LAB: Where experimentation becomes innovation
In line with CAIMI´s philosophy of continuous technological evolution, Open Lab is a research and experimentation laboratory where innovative materials can be studied and new technologies implemented.
ACADEMY: Where ""learning by innovating"" happens
Strongly desired by CAIMI to put its technological forefront at the service of all, the Open Lab project includes the organization of training courses, lessons, and training camps aimed at architects, schools, and universities, Acoustics Seminars and Workshops in the field of sound, matter, and space design.
RESEARCH: Where excellence ""resounds""
Through the continuous study of the human habitat, Open Lab becomes the research and development center where ergonomics, aesthetics, modularity, and technology come together to explore unrealized design potential and effectively apply it to materials and products.
RESEARCH CENTER
CAIMI Open Lab is a complex of laboratories conceived by CAIMI and specifically dedicated to theoretical and applied research in the technological, acoustic, new materials, and advanced prototyping fields. Equipped with the most innovative instruments and equipment, some of which were specially designed and created within the company, it will allow multiple uses and develop new technical solutions to be applied to design, production, and design.
SUPERNOVA LAB: A testing chamber completely isolated from the rest of the world thanks to a triple covering composed of an external structure of 90 tons of special concrete, an intermediate Faraday cage for shielding, and a semi-anechoic insulation specifically composed of 1301 sound-absorbing elements. Its purpose is to investigate human perceptual capabilities in a controlled environment isolated from noise and electromagnetic interference.
REV LAB: A reverberation chamber intended for the measurement and study of sound-absorbing materials, functionality guaranteed by the unique constructive geometry of asymmetrical walls and the structure of the cement enclosure. Another feature of the reverberation chamber is its ability to be directly connected to the semi-anechoic chamber, allowing for a unique analysis of material behavior.
MICROMAX LAB: Dedicated to studying the microstructures of materials using extremely precise microscopes, Kundt impedance tubes, and specific equipment for dimensional, visual, acoustic, and structural analysis and control.
HABITAT LAB: The laboratory expands the analysis of the sound field to the real environment thanks to real-time adjustable acoustics and a system for direct visualization of sound waves.
HUB LAB: The nerve center of Open Lab, a connection and control room that allows real-time management both locally and remotely, managing the flow of data, information, recordings, and images from various laboratories.
DESIGN LAB: The laboratory finalizes applied research, enabling cognitive and research paths that culminate in the development of models and prototypes, also utilizing 3D technologies, as a preliminary step to production.
IPOGEO LAB: An underground and protected environment where the most stringent stress tests on materials are carried out to verify their effectiveness and durability over time.
On September 16, 2020, the OPEN LAB was inaugurated, a complex consisting of seven acoustic laboratories specifically dedicated to theoretical and applied research in the field of acoustics and sound.
In 2021, the CAIMI OPEN LAB Laboratories were selected among the deserving projects in the ADI Design Index 2021; the following year, in 2022, the design of the CAIMI OPEN LAB Laboratories was awarded an Honorable Mention at the XXVII Compasso d´Oro ADI 2022.
Premio XXVII Compasso d’Oro ADI 2022Menzione d’Onore
Laboratori CAIMI OPEN LAB
ADI Design Index 2021Menzione d’Onore
Laboratori CAIMI OPEN LAB
Among the numerous publications and recognitions, we highlight the prestigious article published in Corriere della Sera on February 26, 2020, in Cittadino della Brianza on February 19, 2020, in the architecture and design magazine ABITARE No. 608 in October 2021, and the prestigious award at the Sala della Promoteca in the Campidoglio in Rome at the Regula Prize, 7th Edition (December 19, 2025), a prize recognizing the 100 best Italian projects worldwide, with publication in a specific volume by RD Editore Rome.
The initial core of the CAIMI OPEN LAB Laboratories also appears in recent publications, including Il suono and Essere design, published by SKIRA in 2018, edited by Aldo Colonnetti. In 2024, the catalog Feeling Good – CAIMI Design for the Future, published by the ADI Design Museum in Milan and curated by Aldo Colonnetti, Valentina Fisichella, and Luciano Galimberti, was released, in which the new laboratories form the cornerstone of the research, experimentation, and development context for the future.
In 2020, on the occasion of EXPO 2020 Dubai, based on the complex research, studies, prototyping, and experiments conducted in the CAIMI LAB laboratories, Caimi Brevetti created the prestigious and unique installation titled "The Landscape of Silence" at the Italy Pavilion. This installation featured a tunnel outfitted with 800 sound-absorbing elements from the Flat collection, arranged and presented in a specific and scientific manner.
In the CAIMI LAB Laboratories, every detail of the project has been studied with the utmost specificity in terms of functionality, typology, structure, and systems (both electrical and mechanical), as well as regarding the intrinsic characteristics of the materials and all the smallest components of the project.
The Open Lab laboratories are also available to universities, research institutes, foundations, organizations, and artists, who can use them free of charge for studies and research aimed at identifying new solutions to improve the health and psychophysical well-being of individuals.
Arch. Davide Friso has coordinated the work of a complex team of engineers, geologists, electrical and mechanical systems experts, who worked on the project; the acoustic aspects were managed by CAIMI Lab.
This realized project is now the culmination and reflection of CAIMI BREVETTI´s continuous and ongoing pursuit, with which F_Studio+ has been collaborating for years in architectural design: the 70 years of this esteemed company have not just been a passage of time, but a long ""story,"" which this prestigious and complex achievement underscores even more, with four fundamental pillars around which the company´s coming years will revolve, centered on research, knowledge, development, and design: IDEA, RESEARCH CENTER, NO PROFIT RESEARCH, and ACADEMY (for professional training).
The 70 years of CAIMI BREVETTI have not simply been the passage of time, but a long ""story"" of work, projects, ideas, and courage. Only within this perspective does one understand the rationale behind an advanced laboratory like the one just created. For us, research, experimentation, and continuous improvement are not just words, perhaps overused in today´s context, but they represent the soul of this company, its aforementioned ""story."" The long narrative of life can only confirm this – without research and innovation, there can be no product, design, or industry.
To continue this narrative, the decision was made for the laboratories to arise in the very place where the company was born, where the first machines started production, where the industriousness and ingenuity of its founder took the initial anticipatory steps of the successes that followed.
These laboratories, aimed at acoustic research, experimentation with new materials, and design prototyping, will be the control center of CAIMI´s future programmatic strategy, the forge of ideas, and the opening to society and the market, and it´s no coincidence that they will bear the name Open Lab.
The operation of the Open Lab laboratories, however, will not be exclusive to CAIMI. In line with the company´s inherent social sensitivity from its inception, they will constitute a NO PROFIT structure made available free of charge to Universities, Research Institutes, Foundations, and Organizations for studies and research, particularly in the fields of sound and acoustics and beyond, in order to identify new solutions for improving the health and psychophysical well-being of individuals.
Open Lab: open-mindedness, openness to the world, openness to the future. We come from afar. We look far ahead.
OPEN: Where research opens to non-profit
Open Lab opens its doors and spaces, providing them free of charge to universities, institutions, and researchers, promoting non-profit research and the sharing of knowledge related to the psychophysical well-being of individuals, in order to define new models of excellence and cutting-edge solutions.
LAB: Where experimentation becomes innovation
In line with CAIMI´s philosophy of continuous technological evolution, Open Lab is a research and experimentation laboratory where innovative materials can be studied and new technologies implemented.
ACADEMY: Where ""learning by innovating"" happens
Strongly desired by CAIMI to put its technological forefront at the service of all, the Open Lab project includes the organization of training courses, lessons, and training camps aimed at architects, schools, and universities, Acoustics Seminars and Workshops in the field of sound, matter, and space design.
RESEARCH: Where excellence ""resounds""
Through the continuous study of the human habitat, Open Lab becomes the research and development center where ergonomics, aesthetics, modularity, and technology come together to explore unrealized design potential and effectively apply it to materials and products.
RESEARCH CENTER
CAIMI Open Lab is a complex of laboratories conceived by CAIMI and specifically dedicated to theoretical and applied research in the technological, acoustic, new materials, and advanced prototyping fields. Equipped with the most innovative instruments and equipment, some of which were specially designed and created within the company, it will allow multiple uses and develop new technical solutions to be applied to design, production, and design.
The Laboratories:
SUPERNOVA LAB: A testing chamber completely isolated from the rest of the world thanks to a triple covering composed of an external structure of 90 tons of special concrete, an intermediate Faraday cage for shielding, and a semi-anechoic insulation specifically composed of 1301 sound-absorbing elements. Its purpose is to investigate human perceptual capabilities in a controlled environment isolated from noise and electromagnetic interference.
REV LAB: A reverberation chamber intended for the measurement and study of sound-absorbing materials, functionality guaranteed by the unique constructive geometry of asymmetrical walls and the structure of the cement enclosure. Another feature of the reverberation chamber is its ability to be directly connected to the semi-anechoic chamber, allowing for a unique analysis of material behavior.
MICROMAX LAB: Dedicated to studying the microstructures of materials using extremely precise microscopes, Kundt impedance tubes, and specific equipment for dimensional, visual, acoustic, and structural analysis and control.
HABITAT LAB: The laboratory expands the analysis of the sound field to the real environment thanks to real-time adjustable acoustics and a system for direct visualization of sound waves.
HUB LAB: The nerve center of Open Lab, a connection and control room that allows real-time management both locally and remotely, managing the flow of data, information, recordings, and images from various laboratories.
DESIGN LAB: The laboratory finalizes applied research, enabling cognitive and research paths that culminate in the development of models and prototypes, also utilizing 3D technologies, as a preliminary step to production.
IPOGEO LAB: An underground and protected environment where the most stringent stress tests on materials are carried out to verify their effectiveness and durability over time.
