What Do Bottled Water, Music and Architecture Have In Common? Check Out Ice Swan.

Glaciers + Music + Architecture = Ice Swan.
Ice Swan is a beautiful bottled water from the glaciers and waterfalls of Chile's Patagonia region packaged in an equally beautiful bottling plant designed by Panorama Architects. To add to the intrigue, it is processed in a very unusual manner, the harvesting and bottling of the water is imbued with classical music and natural sounds of Patagonia's habitat because, according to Dr. Masaru Emoto, a world-renowned researcher, water has memory and sensitivity to sound.

Origin:


Ice Swan is bottled in its place of origin. It is a nature's gift from a strand of more than seven ancient majestic glaciers and multiple waterfalls situated in the 'Coastal Temperate Rain Forest' of The Chilean Patagonia, one of the five most pristine regions on earth.



From ancient fjords on the planet's southernmost terrain, Ice Swan's smooth 'mouth feel' and delicate flavor will refresh and satisfy even the most demanding/refined palates. Ice Swan is for the savvy and demanding connoisseurs who prefer the kind of products that set trends and leave an overwhelming feeling of wellness.

Bottle Design:


Ice Swan's bottle is an original creation from award-winning Chilean designer Sebastián Errázuriz, whose talent is trend setting in NYC, where he currently resides. The bottle's teardrop shape represents the fluidity and elegance of a slender-necked swan.



Music:
Joakin Bello, outstanding composer, performer and researcher, has put all his talent to create Ice Swan´s sonorous universe, a soft melody which flows like the waters of the Queulat Fjord.


above: the speakers in the bottling plant

It is about an original musical piece based on strings, bronze and synthesizers, in different versions; a clear example of what he himself has denominated as "Total Music".

To preserve Ice Swan's original essence, they imbue their harvesting and bottling process with classical music and natural sounds of Patagonia's habitat. When tested at the Masaru Emoto Institute in Japan, water samples of Ice Swan produced wonderful hexagonal crystals that reveal the water's exceptional quality, purity and perfection.


above: an Ice Swan water molecule

The Bottling Plant:



The building is a square volume of 18 by 18 meters and 6 meters height with its four facades clad in toughened glass with a black opaque coating. The building is set on top of a 1.5 meter tapered soil base to avoid floods of the nearby river in winter. Because of the weather conditions glass offered a good skin solution plus the reflections of the surroundings, on the other hand the steel structure which is bolted was thought to ensure recycling as much as possible.



Designed by Constanza Hagemann and Nicolás Valdés of Panorama Architects, the end result is a balanced and vanguardist building that is environmentally friendly.




The architects were asked to design a building with the function of bottling water from a cascade which is formed by a glacier. The cascade is visible from the site that is situated at the border of Queulat National Park in Patagonia, 3 hours away from Coyhaique, the nearest city.



Regarding the building, they decided to propose a construction that would depend on its context to reduce to the maximum its presence in the Patagonian landscape; this is how reflection was the most asserted principle to work on. Reflection as the ornament and presence.

The situation of harsh climate conditions and isolation compromised the material and construction logistic decisions to secure its construction quality and aging.

Inside the bottling plant:




The interior is organized in two areas, each related to a different scale. The area of the bottling process utilizes the height of the industry and the rest of the office programs are disposed in wood modules of lower height.




The Ice Swan Myth:
Ice Swan takes its name from the cosmogony of patagonian communities, the first ones to dwell there. The legend tells they were a group of native kawesqar women that died by taking side with the 'Sister Moon' against the 'Brother Sun' turning into swans that flew up to the moon. They called them ice swans, believing these became winged spirits of the glaciers, which now is the place of origin of Ice Swan's water.



Physiochemical Properties
Of utmost purity and a delicate millenary taste, our water naturally flows from glacier thaws, snowdrifts and eternal snows from the untouched region of the chilean patagonia. Our water is bottled with classical music in our facilities in order to preserve its extraordinary genuine properties, following the theories of Dr. Masaru Emoto.



Ice Swan: Chile (Patagonia)
Virginality:
Tds: 12 Mlg (Super low minerality)
Hardness: 1 Mlg (Soft)
Ph: 6,7 - 7,3 (Neutral Orientation)
Calcium: 2,99 Mlg
Nitrate: 1 Mlg (Superior Virginality)
Sodium: Sodium Free
Magnesium: 1 Mlg

images and info courtesy of Ice Swan and Panorama Arquitectos

Ice Swan

You can purchase Ice Swan Water here or at other fine bottled water retailers.

Hip, Luxurious & Really Remote: Posada de Mike Rapu Is Now Open

Located on mythical Easter Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, explora en Rapa Nui –Posada de Mike Rapu– is now open.




Around for only a few months, it's already one of the hottest and hippest destinations. A luxury hotel in a remote and beautiful location that offers guests some very interesting tours; choose between 5 or more different explorations that are selected according to climatic conditions, guests’ preferences, length and difficulty.





The group size maximum is 8 people, along with a bilingual guide who brings along all necessary equipment.

Important facts:
•All rooms have air conditioning.
•The nearest hospital is 5 hours away in Santiago.
•They do not offer horseback riding or scuba diving.

the climate:
With an excellent climate year-round, the average temperature is 21ºC (69.8ºF), with temperatures of 28ºC (82.4 ºF) during summer (January—February) and 14ºC (57.2 ºF) to 22ºC (71.6 ºF) in winter (June—August).




According to a nice in-depth review on hotelchatter.com:

"The hotel is set high up on a mound towards the south side of the island, a few kilometers away from the town. It's built to blend in, with spacious, rounded architecture, large stone walls and pillars of volcanic rock, wooden roofs and a covered bar and breakfast area. Rough and ready yet still reeking style, from its unpainted wooden furniture and bumpy walls to its unkempt grassy surroundings and stepping-stone paths.

There are only 30 rooms, all comfortable, complete and gorgeous. Huge, full-length windows from which you can watch the sun rise over the ocean. Waterfall showers and baths the size of swimming pools.

...the WiFi's dodgy and there's no tv, the rates are high but this price includes all food, drink, tours and transfers: 3 nights in a double room costs US$1,794 or US$2,334 per person, depending on room. From July 2008, rates rise to US$2,097 or US$2,730."

The hotel is located on a hill in the Te Miro Oone sector, on 9.6 hectares of land that faces the sea. The hotel is situated in the southwestern zone of the island, 5.6 km from Hanga Roa – the only town on the island – and it acts as a base for exploring this attractive and mysterious island, home to a culture whose origins and evolution remain unexplained.



Volcanic rock, native to the island and always used by the island’s inhabitants in construction, and wood from the mainland are the principal materials.



The hotel has 30 guestrooms that spread out from central areas that house reception, living areas, a bar, kitchen and services. Next to the common areas is the Casa de Baños Hare Vai, with a pool, massage salon and open-air Jacuzzis.





How do you get there? Fly to Santiago via an international flight. From Santiago, travelers must take a 5-hour flight to Easter Island. You can also arrive to Easter Island flying from Tahiti (Papeete). The flight takes 5 hours. explora staff will greet and transfer guests to explora en Rapa Nui.

Go here for booking, rates and more information.