When a building is completed, you can no longer see all the cables and distribution boxes running through the walls and ceilings. They are concealed beneath plaster or in cable ducts, and it is only in those places where these supply channels emerge from the wall and end in connections, sockets and light switches, is there any visible indication that they are there at all. No matter how inconspicuous these functional elements are, the design of contacts and connections such as these is always in contention with the particular architecture. One company that has been extremely successful in facing this challenge is Gira. Founded in 1905 in Wuppertal, and since 1912 based in Radevormwald, the company swiftly emerged as a supplier of switches of outstanding quality. Nowadays it is widely considered the market leader in all functional areas of intelligent building technology. From HVACR and door communication to music and light control - Gira designs switch units for overall building management.
The Profil 55 function strip, for example, is a wall-mounted expansion module that boasts than can be equipped with over two hundred functions - from sockets, timers, and dimmers to sensors - without the wall having to be prised open every time. There is even more high-tech in Gira's Keyless In; as the name suggests this is a small switch for keyless access to buildings through the biometric recognition of finger prints using high-frequency technology.Yet whether it is a complex modular function column for outside doors or a straightforward smoke detector: Gira products and ranges have received numerous awards. Like the new E22: Just three millimeters thick and available in stainless steel, aluminum and white thermoplastic. The range was designed together with Phoenix Design in Stuttgart and received the 2007 red dot award. The straightforward, high-end design is typical of Gira. www.gira.de