With solar panels on the roofs, a localised power supply and a communal power station, this complex of new and renovated buildings is an ecological and energetic innovation.

One key target for architect Ralf Petersmann was to use a fully automated sun shading system. Schneider Ingenieure GmbH in nearby Kamp-Lintfort was tasked with the technical planning.

Open office structures and flexible usage times mean constant change. People work at the Campus round the clock and at constantly changing times. Some work at computers, others give PowerPoint presentations or work in teams, and individual requirements don't always correlate with programmed automation.

In addition to programming that is easy to alter, another key requirement for the sun shading was simple individual control.

Ultimately, Omnexo from WAREMA was the winner. The fully automated control system is designed for medium-sized buildings such as schools, office buildings and campuses. Another crucial argument for Omnexo was that it is completely integrated into the building network. It can be installed and commissioned, altered and updated directly using any browser-compatible device – a tablet, PC or laptop.

Installation is particularly easy as the central control unit has a width of just four modules in the distribution box with all key control functions preconfigured and saved. Up to 500 sun shading components can be controlled via the central control unit – up to 3,000 products in groups. This makes it the ideal size for the Factory Campus.

In combination with the WAREMA weather station move, an Omnexo central control unit at the Campus locally controls 16 switch actuators spread throughout the building via bus signals. 76 external venetian blinds with intelligently controlled slat tracking perfectly control daylight and optimise energy all by themselves.

In addition, all sun shading products can be operated using conventional push buttons or via an app with the user management function already integrated into the central control unit.

The project members were won over by the outstanding performance of the Omnexo central control unit and its almost limitless flexibility. For example, a wide range of scenarios and special applications can be integrated via digital universal inputs – these include a cleaning circuit, a central fire alarm or a superordinate building control system.

Complex and tedious programming? In the Omnexo studio software, specially designed for commissioning, every product is already entered in the central control unit with standard values, and these values can be simply and individually parameterised using Omnexo studio. An integrated intelligent plausibility check ensures that settings are configured without errors.

The weather station move positioned on the roof transmits all relevant weather data to the central control unit: wind force, temperature, brightness and precipitation. Continuously optimised slat angles ensure ideal light yield with glare-free working conditions and a pleasant indoor climate at all times. The system efficiently stops rooms from heating up in the summer and minimises heat loss in the winter.

The system can be quickly adapted to changes in usage conditions and the technology is always up to date – any new updates are installed at the touch of a button.

• Building: Factory Campus
• Location: Düsseldorf
• Property developer: EK 401 Grundstücksverwertungs-GmbH & Co. KG, Düsseldorf
• Purpose: 3,000 m² office building with 38 state-of-the-art offices ranging from 38 m² to 218 m² in size
• Architecture: Dipl.-Ing. Ralf Petersmann, Düsseldorf, www.ralfpetersmann.de
• Planning: Schneider Ingenieure GmbH, Kamp-Lintfort, www.schneider-ingenieure.de
• Sun shading system model: Wilbrand GmbH, 48465 Ohne
• Control system model: ES Project GmbH, Essen, www.es-project.de
• Completion: 2023
• Sun shading system: 76 units of WAREMA basic external venetian blinds E80A6S
• Control system: Omnexo central control unit // 6 Omnexo 4M230 AP switch actuators // 10 Omnexo 6M230 AP switch actuators // WAREMA weather station move