Health: The Ultimate Amenity

At the Ultra-Luxury Condominium Project Villa Valencia, the Developers are also Offering Cleaner Air, Cleaner Water and a Lighting System that Mimics the Sun’s Cycle

By J.P. Faber

Fall 2019

The old saying is that health is the real wealth, and that no amount of riches exceeds the importance of being healthy. While that may be true, affluence is also something that can help people stay healthy, with everything from better food to top medical care.

So, why should a luxury residential lifestyle – with the help of modern technology – be anything different? When you can have anything in the world, why not make sure your habitat is uber healthy?

That is the thinking behind developer Rishi Kapoor’s strategy of equipping Villa Valencia, the latest luxury condominium rising in the Gables, with state-of-the-art technology to scrub the air and water. The Darwin system he is installing in all units also includes lighting that imitates the rising and setting of the sun. Buyers should expect nothing less, he says, for units touted as the area’s most expensive. “Everybody wants to seek better health,” says Kapoor, founder and CEO of development firm Location Ventures. “So, we are using leading-edge technology to create the healthiest environment possible.” The new technology is also helping Villa Valencia capture the highest prices in the city. “We want to establish the most luxurious building in the city of Coral Gables,” says Kapoor. “We have achieved over $1,000 per square foot. There is a demand for that here.”

Kapoor does not build only high-end luxury dwellings. One of his firm’s projects is a shared living complex at 800 S. Dixie Highway, near UM, where students can pay $1,000 per bedroom. “It’s for those who can’t find housing in the urban core,” he says. But at Villa Valencia, he can afford to “cater to a clientele that is really the best of the best, from a financial standpoint.” The Darwin system being installed is made by New York-based Delos corporation, using research from top medical facilities such as the Cleveland and Mayo clinics. The system purifies all drinking and bathing water, and removes allergens, toxins, pathogens, and pollen from the air. Each room is continuously monitored for air quality.

In order to recreate the sun’s natural circadian rhythm, which is wrecked by our use of artificial lighting, the system controls overhead banked lighting; in the morning, light with cool tones helps a person wake up, while warmer tones in the evening help him or her get ready for sleep.

“For most of history, we lived outdoors,” says Paul Scialla, founder and CEO of Delos, and founder of the International Well Building Institute. “We breathed pure air and drank pristine water. Today, most people spend 90 percent of their time indoors. Darwin brings back the benefits of an outdoor environment so people can live like nature intended.”

In addition to Darwin, Villa Valencia will have other, more predictable health amenities, such as a gym, his-and-her hammam spas, and hydrotherapy pools. But for Darwin’s new system of environmental control – previously surfacing only in select estates in places like Beverly Hills – the Villa Valencia is a condominium first.

“I have always been fascinated by technology and what it can do to improve our lives,” says Kapoor. “Certain things, like air, water and light, are universal to maximizing health and wellness, so why not use technology to bring us the best we can experience?”