Infineon Technologies AG, Munich - COLT GERMANY

This building is the new headquarters of Infineon Technologies AG, situated near to Munich. The company supplies semi-conductor and system solutions for automobile and industrial electronics for applications in wire-based communication, secure mobile solutions and storage components.

Twelve separate office buildings have been built consisting of approximately 150,000 m² of offices and laboratory space. The whole site is as big as 90 football fields.

Colt was contracted by Moto Projektmanagement / Arge Campeon to provide a special design of solar shading louvres consisting of nearly 13,000 m² of fixed louvre and over 2,500 m² of controllable louvre modules in 634 special sliding units.

Before the controllable louvre modules were installed, Colt carried out extensive noise reduction, reliability and aerodynamic tests in its Kleve laboratory near Düsseldorf in order to provide the client with the optimum design.

Countless prototypes were required to meet the stringent technical and aesthetic requirements. Colt subjected the complete system to a reliability test with 10,000 opening and closing cycles.

All items were tested at full size and had to withstand a simulated gale with wind speeds of 23 metres per second.

The cross section, colour, length and surface of the louvres were matched to the external venetian blinds in order to preserve uniformity of appearance.

The movable solar shading system provides an optimum balance of glare-free daylight entry with effective solar shading for all 6,000 employees on the site. A Colt control system ensures that the louvre position is suited to the changes in the weather.

Besides improving working conditions, the system has reduced the cooling loads.

Since the 1930's Colt has developed test facilities in the UK and Germany, and has carried out hundreds of tests, whether for the development of its own products or to test how well these products perform when integrated into a customer's building under differing conditions.

Colt: Research and Development

We can all appreciate the benefits of working in an environment where the temperature is precisely regulated. For office buildings in the summer, the optimum setting is 24°C, with a narrow range of +/- 4°C.

Introduction to Solar Shading