Italian sportswear brand UYN has unveiled its research and development laboratory – AREAS – and has opened up the facility, for product and athlete testing, to the public.
AREAS – the Academy for Research and Engineering in Apparel and Sport – is a 3500 square metre site located in Asola (Mantua Province, Italy), within the headquarters of Trerè Innovation, the company that owns the UYN brand.
The building is home to the company’s new research and development laboratory, an academy for scholars and young talents in the textile field, and a creative hub for product and communication design.
Marco Redini, CEO of Trere Innovation, said “AREAS is born out of a dream, that of founding the most advanced research academy in the world in the technical apparel sector.
“We wanted to create not only a physical space, but an idea space that would allow the convergence of multiple fields of knowledge: from science to design, from communication to art. From the meeting of this knowledge comes a powerful drive towards innovation. This allows AREAS to be the laboratory in which we build the future, in which we design what does not yet exist.”
Resulting from an investment of more than € 2 million, AREAS is a laboratory for research into bio-materials and advanced textile structures, for analysing the performance of products, and for athletes using the facility’s state-of-the-art scientific equipment.
The equipment on show at the laboratory includes:
- A climate chamber (with controlled temperature and humidity);
- Neuro-reactive treadmills developed by the Italian company Reaxing;
- A TITICI bike station with oscillating platforms; and
- A thermal manikin – Hyper – a human-like robot capable of reproducing the physiological reactions of the human body thanks to 35 independent thermal zones.
The research and testing carried out at AREAS is done in collaboration with the CeRiSM (Research Centre ‘Sport, Mountain and Health) of the University of Verona, the fourth ranked sports science department in the world according to the Global Shanghai Ranking.
In a move not normally seen in this secretive industry, Trerè Innovation has chosen to make AREAS a place open to everyone. Not only industry professionals and specialised media, but anyone who wishes can book a tour of AREAS at uynsports.com or areas-academy.com.
The tour is structured with interactive experiences that allow visitors to test UYN products and AREAS’ scientific devices, interact with technicians, designers and engineers. Visits also include Trerè Innovation’s production department, showrooms, logistics with the robotised warehouse and the UYN Flagship Store in Asola.
www.uynsports.com
www.areas-academy.com
