Established in Bolzano in 1989, with the aim of creating sports timing systems, Microgate has become a thriving company that has constantly expanded its know-how by continuously investing in research and development over the years in order to successfully meet every new challenge head on. With its strong focus on product design and innovation, today the company is active in four areas of development: Timing, Training & Sport, Medical Rehab and Engineering. Its customers include the Italian Athletics Federation, the most prestigious European football clubs and leading rehabilitation clinics in Italy and abroad.
In 2004, the company also set up Micro Photon Devices, a spin-off company jointly owned with the Polytechnic University of Milan. The first product of Micro Photon Devices was a photon meter, already purchased by NASA and MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which immediately recognised its huge potential for use in the fields of biomedical, industrial and astronomical technologies.
As a company that is continuously growing, Microgate recently opened its new headquarters. This is where the entire technological development process takes place, from the design phase to prototyping and production. The heart of the company consists of a workforce of about forty employees, most of whom are engineers specialised in different areas (electrical, IT and aerospace), operating at the cutting-edge of technological development and making training and research – in contact with the most state-of-the-art international development centres – two of the company’s top priorities.
This space also hosts Pro Motus, a centre that encompasses a gym, a laboratory for physical tests, physiotherapy rooms and a sports medicine clinic.
It is here, in all these spaces, that Vimar technology makes its important contribution. Indeed, the Vimar devices from the Plana serieswere chosen to ensure impeccable control of the facility’s electricity, here framed by cover plates in the white technopolymer version. Distinguished by clean, minimalist lines, Plana, with its timeless design, is perfectly suited to these environments.
Whether on the first two floors, dedicated to the showroom and warehouse, the third floor, which houses the research and development departments, the fourth floor, reserved for offices, or the fifth floor, which hosts the conference room and a roof garden, Plana always makes a flawless impression: its devices enable lighting, comfort, energy saving and safety to be managed in the most effective way.
Lighting and comfort because the Vimar touch screens and KNX controls facilitate the control of both the light sources and the movement of the roller blinds, essential in these environments, which are characterised by a series of large windows looking outside.
Energy saving because the Vimar technology enables the user to prevent waste, with all the functions also controlled centrally from a single location, namely, a PC positioned in the consumer unit. In this way, there is no risk of leaving the lights on in the evening and, as a result, energy is never wasted.
Safety because, to ensure high level performances when sending information, all the offices have been equipped with Vimar data socket outlets, allowing information to be sent and received quickly and safely both within and outside the offices.
A particularly unique feature is the fact that in the clinics of Pro Motus, Plana was chosen in the Antibacterial version: here the cover plates and inserts were treated with silver ions to reduce the proliferation of germs and bacteria. An effective treatment – certified by laboratory analyses performed by the Department of Molecular Medicine at the University of Padua – capable of reducing the proliferation of over 50 different species of bacteria by more than 90% over a period of 24 hours.
An environment intended to favour the physical and psychological wellbeing of its employees, thus boosting the quality of their work, as architect Martina Blasi explains, the new Microgate headquarters were designed in accordance with most modern architectural standards. The choice of construction technologies and the selection of the materials and colour schemes used clearly show the will to also seek total harmony with the surrounding environment, blurring the lines between interior and exterior spaces.
The Plana devices blend naturally and discreetly into these new spaces, where the glass partition walls and internal courtyard give the environments a rather weightless feel, bringing the concept of Made in Vimar style to the cutting-edge of technology.
Credits:
Wiring series: Plana with KNX controls
Architectural design: Ms Martina Biasi, architect – Area 7 architetti associati, Bolzano
System design: for Gabriele Busellato, industrial engineer, StudioBZ
System installation: Elpo Srl, Brunico
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