Box isotermico, box isotermici
ES Frigo for Maxxi Museum: Ice at the Museum?

How we Created an Installation Spanning Art and Technology

Imagine entering a very cold room, with the ceiling and walls covered by a thick layer of ice. Not artificially reconstructed, but real ice, constantly forming and maintaining itself in the heart of one of Italy’s most important museums.

This is exactly the project that ES Frigo has completed in collaboration with the MAXXI Museum in Rome, as part of the exhibition ‘Sensazioni in Ambiente’ (Sensations in Environment). An ambitious challenge, only made possible by unique and original solutions.

The MAXXI challenge

When the MAXXI Museum contacted ES Frigo, the briefing was as fascinating as it was complex: create an environment where ice would form on the ceiling and part of the walls of a 6 by 4-metre room. The work was to remain on display for six months, giving visitors the impression of being inside a real chamber made of ice.

But the project was fraught with technical challenges: it was set in an uninsulated, large, open space with plasterboard walls, with visitors coming in and out, bringing body heat and disturbing the delicate thermal balance. As if that were not enough, the artist’s need was to have all the refrigeration equipment directly inside the work itself, to emphasise the noise of the machinery. A true test of endurance.

Complex problems, innovative solutions

We faced a number of technical obstacles that would have discouraged most people. How to maintain ice and prevent it from melting on surfaces not designed to withstand the cold? How to counteract the heat generated by the visitors and even by the very refrigeration machinery we needed? The answer was to find a unique solution, a dual condensing system.

The double condensing unit: how to maintain ice in an open environment

The key to success was the installation of a double condensing unit, a key element in meeting all requirements. ES Frigo installed an internal condensing unit, seamlessly integrated into the artwork’s environment according to the aesthetic requirements of the artist, and an external condensing unit, designed to control the actual cooling. While the internal condensing unit helped to create the desired auditory effect, the external condensing unit ensured that the room temperature remained constantly below zero.

In this way, it was possible to create a microclimate that would allow ice to form and remain stable, without damaging the plasterboard structure and keeping the room safe for the thousands of visitors who immersed themselves in the work for months.

A chilling installation: the frozen room that caused a sensation

The result was extraordinary: a completely frozen room, capable of arousing awe and wonder among MAXXI’s visitors. The ice held out for six months without melting. But the success of the project was not only technical: the greatest satisfaction was to meet precisely and thoroughly all of the artist’s needs, without compromise, adapting the technology to a work that needed an extremely delicate aesthetic touch.

ES Frigo: from the cold chain to contemporary art

This story perfectly represents the spirit of ES Frigo: the ability to solve complex problems, to think outside the box and to adapt to the most unusual demands, providing innovative solutions.

This installation is tangible proof of how even the refrigeration sector can become fertile ground for art and creativity, and how we are able to bring innovation and reliability wherever there is a need to keep cool, even when that need is… artistic.

ES Frigo for Maxxi Museum: Ice at the Museum?

How we Created an Installation Spanning Art and Technology

Imagine entering a very cold room, with the ceiling and walls covered by a thick layer of ice. Not artificially reconstructed, but real ice, constantly forming and maintaining itself in the heart of one of Italy’s most important museums.

This is exactly the project that ES Frigo has completed in collaboration with the MAXXI Museum in Rome, as part of the exhibition ‘Sensazioni in Ambiente’ (Sensations in Environment). An ambitious challenge, only made possible by unique and original solutions.

The MAXXI challenge

When the MAXXI Museum contacted ES Frigo, the briefing was as fascinating as it was complex: create an environment where ice would form on the ceiling and part of the walls of a 6 by 4-metre room. The work was to remain on display for six months, giving visitors the impression of being inside a real chamber made of ice.

But the project was fraught with technical challenges: it was set in an uninsulated, large, open space with plasterboard walls, with visitors coming in and out, bringing body heat and disturbing the delicate thermal balance. As if that were not enough, the artist’s need was to have all the refrigeration equipment directly inside the work itself, to emphasise the noise of the machinery. A true test of endurance.

Complex problems, innovative solutions

We faced a number of technical obstacles that would have discouraged most people. How to maintain ice and prevent it from melting on surfaces not designed to withstand the cold? How to counteract the heat generated by the visitors and even by the very refrigeration machinery we needed? The answer was to find a unique solution, a dual condensing system.

The double condensing unit: how to maintain ice in an open environment

The key to success was the installation of a double condensing unit, a key element in meeting all requirements. ES Frigo installed an internal condensing unit, seamlessly integrated into the artwork’s environment according to the aesthetic requirements of the artist, and an external condensing unit, designed to control the actual cooling. While the internal condensing unit helped to create the desired auditory effect, the external condensing unit ensured that the room temperature remained constantly below zero.

In this way, it was possible to create a microclimate that would allow ice to form and remain stable, without damaging the plasterboard structure and keeping the room safe for the thousands of visitors who immersed themselves in the work for months.

A chilling installation: the frozen room that caused a sensation

The result was extraordinary: a completely frozen room, capable of arousing awe and wonder among MAXXI’s visitors. The ice held out for six months without melting. But the success of the project was not only technical: the greatest satisfaction was to meet precisely and thoroughly all of the artist’s needs, without compromise, adapting the technology to a work that needed an extremely delicate aesthetic touch.

ES Frigo: from the cold chain to contemporary art

This story perfectly represents the spirit of ES Frigo: the ability to solve complex problems, to think outside the box and to adapt to the most unusual demands, providing innovative solutions.

This installation is tangible proof of how even the refrigeration sector can become fertile ground for art and creativity, and how we are able to bring innovation and reliability wherever there is a need to keep cool, even when that need is… artistic.

Transfusions in record time: Croce Verde and ES Frigo together

It is not often that one is called upon by a volunteer organisation for such a delicate and vital mission, especially with only one week’s notice!

Croce Verde Reggio Emilia is a historic voluntary association, active since 1914, that provides essential emergency-urgency services to the Reggio Emilia community. With more than a century of history in the name of assistance and solidarity, Croce Verde has become a true landmark for the city thanks to the tireless efforts of its volunteers.

When they contacted us, they needed help with an entirely new project: Croce Verde had won a tender to manage the special medical transport of blood and plasma, supporting the national health service. Their need was to transport blood and plasma from collection clinics to laboratories, ensuring strict temperature control and optimal safety of the storage conditions. A crucial public health task, which required the utmost reliability and precision.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, they only had one week to do everything, from vehicle selection to final testing! It was a demanding but also exciting challenge that we were looking forward to.

The challenge of the time constraints and vehicles: adapting passenger vehicles

The starting situation was far from easy: Croce Verde had just won a tender and had found three used vehicles at the last minute, originally intended for passenger transport. Our task was to adapt these vehicles, and turn them into perfect tools for the cold chain, ready to ensure the safety of extremely delicate medical products. And all that… in just seven days!

The challenge was not so much to provide the refrigerated boxes – for us this was already a tried and tested technology – but rather the fast adaptation of the vehicles and the customisation required by the project. We must admit that the adrenaline rush of the time constraints was a push to give our best. We tailor-made the isothermal boxes for each of the three different vehicles, to fit them into the available space as well as possible.

Technology in the service of safety: geolocation and remote control

A really interesting aspect of this project was the need to implement geolocation and real-time temperature monitoring. Croce Verde wanted to be able to track not only the location of the vehicles, but also the temperature of the isothermal boxes, to be sure that blood and plasma were always stored in optimal conditions. The stakes were high: the safety of the blood components could not be impaired.

To solve this problem, we relied on our network of suppliers and found a solution that would quickly fit into the boxes, without invasive modifications. We installed an electronic control unit with an integrated SIM card, which is able to send real time data on both the position of the vehicle and the temperature inside the boxes. This system allowed the Green Cross to monitor each transport remotely, ensuring safety and reliability at all times during the journey.

Creative solutions under tight deadlines: teamwork that makes the difference

One of the most important aspects of this project was teamwork. It was not just a matter of fast delivery: during the testing stage, we worked closely with Croce Verde to ensure that everything was in perfect working order and that their requirements were one hundred per cent met. It was an actual co-engineering effort, where our goal was not only to provide a working product, but also to assist the customer at every stage, right up to getting the vehicles on the road.

The installation of our battery-operated refrigerated boxes and the monitoring system allowed Croce Verde to kick the new service off without any setbacks, meeting the community’s health needs safely and accurately. Each vehicle was transformed into a mobile laboratory, capable of ensuring the maintenance of the cold chain throughout transportation.

ES Frigo and Croce Verde: flexibility that makes the difference

This project perfectly embodies what we are about at ES Frigo: we don’t just sell isothermal boxes, we are committed to finding tailor-made solutions, even when the challenges seem insurmountable.

Croce Verde was not a typical customer for us, it was not a company with experience in temperature-controlled transportation, but a volunteer association that was faced with a new challenge. And we were proud to be the partner that made it possible to rise to the occasion.

We approached the project with our trademark mentality: listening, understanding and finding innovative solutions, adapting to the customer’s specific needs. Even when time is short, even when the vehicles are not ideal, what matters is being able to ensure the utmost safety and reliability. And that is exactly what we did.

Conclusions

The collaboration with Croce Verde was an excellent example of how to adapt and solve problems under difficult conditions.

We are proud of this project, not only because we adapted vehicles not conventionally used to transport blood and plasma in record time, but also for being part of a project that has a value for the community.

It was a privilege for us to be able to contribute to such an important cause, putting our technical expertise at the service of the community and showing that the cold chain knows no limits, nor time constraints!

How to ensure access to drinking water for everyone when there is no water? The Dew Water Project

A challenge with an important objective

Let’s go back for a moment to the COVID period, a difficult time for everyone, when we learnt how important hygiene and disinfection are.

However, not everyone had the same tools at their disposal to protect themselves. In Cambodia, for example, entire communities did not have access to disinfectants, detergents or adequate amounts of drinking water and electricity.

It was in this context that the Lions Club contacted us with an important goal: to find a way to purify water and improve the health and sanitation conditions of a village.

Hence the ‘Acqua di Rugiada’ (Dew Water) project was born.

The difficulties of the project

The aim of the project was noble, but there was no shortage of difficulties. First of all, the area where the system was to be installed lacked an easily accessible source of drinking water, which meant that we had to find a way to, literally, create water out of thin air. What is more, the whole system had to operate without a stable energy source, such as an electricity connection.

As if that were not challenging enough, the system also had to be fully mobile. It had to be easily transported to the site and assembled in advance.

Acqua di Rugiada was a real opportunity for us to put our skills to use.

What have we achieved?

Thanks to a collaboration with a university professor we often work with, we discovered a tool capable of creating a wholly natural disinfectant, called anolyte, using just water and salt.

Anolyte is indeed at the heart of the Acqua di Rugiada project – a powerful disinfectant that can be used in multiple applications. This compound not only potabilises water, making it safe for human consumption, but is also extremely versatile: it can disinfect food, surfaces and rooms, ensuring a high level of hygiene even in complex contexts.

Just think of emergency situations such as natural disasters, or isolated areas where drinking water is scarce and sanitation is limited. Acqua di Rugiada meets precisely these needs, providing safe water and ensuring a level of hygiene that is essential for people’s health.

Water from the atmosphere and solar power

The real innovation of the project lies in the station’s ability to adapt to extreme environments. Imagine being in an area with no direct access to water and no electricity grid: Acqua di Rugiada is designed to deal exactly with this kind of scenario.

Thanks to 600 kWp photovoltaic panels, the station is self-sufficient, producing the energy required to generate the anolyte and purify water to make it drinkable.

But that’s not all: in the absence of available water, the station is able to produce water by extracting it directly from the atmosphere. ES Frigo developed a refrigeration unit that acts as a dehumidifier, producing water by condensing it directly from the moisture in the air.

A technology that seems almost magical, creating water virtually out of thin air, but which today is a real possibility to ensure access to drinking water even under the most difficult conditions.

A future of innovative solutions

Participating in the Acqua di Rugiada project was an opportunity for us at ES Frigo to make a tangible contribution to an initiative that can make a difference in emergency situations and for vulnerable communities. The idea of being able to guarantee clean water and hygiene everywhere, even under the most difficult conditions, is something that has fascinated us from the very beginning.

We are proud to have been chosen for this initiative thanks to our experience and ability to adapt. Together with all those who contributed, we were able to develop a solution that addresses unprecedented environmental and logistical challenges.

Acqua di Rugiada, unfortunately, could not reach the place for which it was intended because of the difficulties related to the pandemic. For this reason, the Lions Group chose to donate it to the Civil Defence Association of Alessandria. Today, thanks to this choice, it has become a special destination for many schoolchildren, who discover here how even the most difficult challenges can be tackled when there is something really important at stake.

We won this challenge through collaboration and commitment, and we are proud to have been part of it. If there is one thing that Acqua di Rugiada has taught us, it is that the best solutions are those that look ahead.