Atlas: the world’s most sustainable educational building

University of Technology

Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Eindhoven University of Technology transformed its outdated main building, Atlas, into a sustainable and future-proof educational building. Thanks in part to the connected lighting system Interact Office, the TU/e now has an iconic building that has lowered C0₂ emissions by 80% and saves the university up to 60% on energy bills.

Light has to learn from the context in which it operates. Interact Office helps us by providing us with data.”

- Ingrid Heynderickx, Scientific Director, Intelligent Lighting Institute, TU/e

Customer challenge

Built in 1968, Atlas, one of the main buildings on Eindhoven’s University of Technology campus, was in need of an upgrade. The university was looking to modernize the interior while improving the way people used the space, with a focus on sustainability, cost reduction, and comfort for occupants.

Interact Office in Atlas

With Interact Office, the TU/e has taken a green step towards sustainability and health. The system comprises 4,400 connected TrueLine LED luminaires with a sensor slot. Each luminaire has its own IP address and acts as an ethernet data point. Half the luminaires are equipped with a daylight and motion sensor, and where possible light intensity is dimmed. The remaining 2,200 free slots are available for future advanced data generation sensors.

Set light and heating via an app
In principle the TrueLine LED luminaires offer 500 Lux. Office workers can vary the intensity of the light, up or down, in their workspace using the app. The app utilizes a coding that the LEDs in the luminaire emit. The user’s location is determined through aiming a smartphone or tablet at the luminaire. Following this, the user can use the app to adjust the light intensity. Within the foreseeable future it will be possible to control the temperature of the immediate area using the app. Other possibilities are also being explored, like window controls.

BREEAM Outstanding
According to BREEAM certification, Atlas is the most sustainable educational building in the world. The CO₂ reduction and energy savings have resulted in the award of the prestigious BREEAM Outstanding certificate, the highest attainable BREEAM category. Building managers or project developers with plans for sustainability, who opt for Interact Office are engaging a system with comprehensive potential for achieving sustainability targets.

Intelligent system respects personal wishes
Atlas harbors an important role for the Intelligent Lighting Institute. This scientific TU/e institute will research Human Centric Lighting in this new building, in other words, the effect of lighting on human performance. Interact Office is perfect for this. The Interact Office sensors offer countless possibilities for processing generated data with algorithms. They allow for the lighting and interior climate to be set to the exact wishes of the individual users, and Interact Office can be deployed even more effectively.

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