The Italian technical sportswear brand UYN (Unleash Your Nature) unveiled its new research and development lab on Oct. 5 in Asola, Italy. AREAS is a 3,500-sqm, two-story building immediately adjacent to the headquarters of Trerè Innovation, the company behind the UYN brand. The modern building houses the new research and development lab, an academy for scientists and young talents in the textile field, and a creative hub for product and communication design.
Research and development lab
With an investment of more than €2 million, AREAS is a pioneering laboratory for research into biomaterials and advanced textile structures for analyzing the performance of products and athletes with state-of-the-art scientific equipment. The heart of the lab is the Brain Unit, a climate chamber (with controlled temperature and humidity) where athletes and products are tested, performance is analyzed, and essential data for new developments is collected. The Brain Unit includes a station for studying athletes’ movements and cognitive abilities, neuroreactive treadmills developed by the Italian company Reaxing, an oscillating TITICI bicycle station, and the thermal mannequin Hyper, a humanoid robot that can reproduce the physiological responses of the human body thanks to 35 independent thermal zones. Hyper overheats, cools and sweats like athletes, measuring the breathability and insulating properties of the clothes it wears through hundreds of sensors. This enables the scientific study of performance and the acquisition of objective data for comparisons. The methodology of the tests and the analysis of the results are carried out in collaboration with CeRiSM (Research Center “Sport, Mountain and Health”) of the University of Verona.
Tests under extreme climatic conditions are carried out on the second floor of the laboratory. The Arctic chamber is used to measure the performance of clothing at -20°C and to analyze the distribution of body heat through a thermal camera. The Monsoon chamber is also applied to test the waterproofness of garments under intense water jets.
The Biotechnological Unit is the area of AREAS equipped for the research of new biomaterials and for mechanical and chemical tests on yarns to be implemented in production. Tests on the final product (abrasion resistance, color fastness, pH of the components, washing resistance) are also carried out here. The rigorous analyses allow a quick assessment of the conformity of the products with the current regulations and guarantee the highest quality.
Academy and creative hub
AREAS is also intended to be a meeting place for scientists, engineers, industrial designers, graphic designers, artists and communication experts interested in sharing revolutionary ideas and visions. The large open space on the second floor of the building, called Creativity, is designed precisely to foster this exchange and idea generation and features areas for apparel design, footwear design and product storytelling. Through the AREAS Academy, Trerè Innovation also invests in work and education programs for young talents and graduates who want to specialize in technical apparel.
As part of the knowledge exchange project to promote human know-how, Trerè Innovation has decided to make AREAS accessible to everyone. Not only industry professionals but anyone who wants can book a tour of AREAS at areas-academy.com.
