Uncompromisingly pure: When making over this apartment in an old building in Brixen, Northern Italy, architects office Fuchs und Peer opted for brilliant white and for clear lines. To this end, the architects completely rearranged the apartment’s groundplan, fitting out all its rooms with products by Gira. This made certain not only is energy use efficient but the system in question is highly convenient in any number of ways.
“We wanted to recreate the original beautiful lines of the building’s interior and combine them with modern, contemporary architecture,” explains Karlheinz Peer. After all, part of the building’s structure dates back to the 17th century. Accordingly, the architects reconstructed the partially destroyed cross-vault in the hall and in the new bathroom, and knocked out a number of walls in order to produce rooms that now have a more spacious feel. In the kitchen, the walls, the ceiling, the floors and even the work surfaces all boast entirely white surfaces, with individual cupboards in high-grade walnut providing color highlights.
The apartment now possesses heat insulation all round and a new electronic system has been installed, networking all the individual electrical appliances – all the data are now transmitted via a KNX system to the central control system, the “Gira Homeserver”: guaranteeing energy efficiency. Sensors in the various rooms automatically activate the ventilation system when the air there is short on CO2. Moreover, in combination with a timer switch, the garden is watered automatically in the evenings, that is, unless the weather station on the roof with its temperature detectors reports rain. If the sun’s rays beat down particularly intensely the blinds come down automatically, preventing rooms from heating up too much. Not to forget, the Gira solutions also help everyone feel at home. Using the “Gira Homeserver app” residents can orchestrate various different lighting scenarios and have their favorite music flow from the loudspeakers in every room via a central audio source. Incidentally, the entire HVAC system can even be regulated after the family has gone out – quite easily and even if the inhabitants are out and about – using a “Gira Interface” downloaded to a smartphone or tablet PC.
New paint, old charm: Following a complete make-over, this apartment in an old town in Northern Italy boasts the purest of gleaming whites; the historical cross-vault in its bathroom was retained. All photos © Jürgen Eheim for Gira
More air to breathe: The architects took out walls as well as creating more space and flowing transitions between the individual areas.
High-grade walnut wood makes for individual color highlights and a comfortable feel.
Transparent partition walls ensure that even the furthest recesses of this apartment are suffused with light. At the front: The Gira touchscreen.
Digital mastermind: The Gira touchscreen allows for a perfect combination of music, light and shade.
HAL can see everything: With the aid of Gira’s door communication system with its integrated video function those on the inside can keep an eye on everything on the outside.
Central controls, even when out and about: Using the Gira interface on your iPad.
