'Integrating blinds ahead of time is better than afterwards...'

WAREMA is a renowned German manufacturer of sun protection and outdoor living products. It is one of the major players in that market. The company has opened a showroom - Sun Center - in Weert for the Netherlands, the neighboring part of Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. "A major focus, of course, is on the sun protection business," says WAREMA Netherlands director Roelof Rozema. "But we are emphatically also there for the architect and other building professionals." 

Partly because of Nearly Energy Neutral Building - BENG - it is important to include solar shading in a construction project from the early stages, Rozema emphasizes. "BENG 1 is about the energy requirements of homes and buildings, for example for heating and cooling. Through the intelligent application of solar shading, heating can be largely prevented, greatly reducing the energy requirement for cooling in particular." Architects and other building professionals can visit the Sun Center in Weert for expert advice on this subject. In addition, WAREMA has two consultants on the road in the Netherlands who visit building professionals to advise on the application of solar shading, but also on outdoor living products if required. "We are increasingly outside, and not just because of corona," notes Rozema. "Outdoor living has already taken off before, both in the hospitality industry and in private environments. Our patio solutions ensure that the outdoor space becomes a comfortable extension of the indoor space, both at home and at café or restaurant." 

WAREMA makes every effort to provide sun protection specialists, architects and other building professionals with the best possible support when choosing sun protection or outdoor living solutions. In addition to the Sun Center and advisors on the road, WAREMA also offers tools - online. For example, a product configurator, which provides a realistic representation of WAREMA products, configured exactly as required. Or a tool with which the exact amount of sunlight on a facade with a certain orientation can be determined. "To help construction professionals, we also offer specification texts - both for private projects and commercial construction - and BIM files," Rozema said. 

Increasingly, WAREMA's consultants sit in on construction meetings at an early stage, because after all, integrating solar shading in advance is better than adding it afterwards. Motorization and - automatic - control can then also be included, because an automatic, weather-dependent control is indispensable for the optimal energy efficiency of a shading system. 

"When it comes to sun protection - and outdoor living - our goal is to support architects and other building professionals as best we can," Roelof Rozema summarizes. "We are optimally equipped to do this, because we have all the knowledge, all the tools and a complete product range in-house."