Well Wired - CEDIA Award Winner | Home Entertainment

Well Wired - CEDIA Award Winner

February 5, 2010 By Brooke Lange

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The guest bedroom is wrapped in custom woodworking and features a 42-inch Sharp LCD television, as well as a 5.1 surround-sound system.

Every element of this home was extensively thought out—from the massive concrete walls to the extremely sophisticated automation system. “The home was built to last 200 years,” says Harper. “The client wanted the property to remain in the family for many

The master suite’s television does not detract from the stunning views. The room’s 52-inch Sharp LCD, tucked into a beautifully crafted custom cabinet, is equipped with a silent, motorized lift that allows the TV to appear and disappear like magic.

Even while working in the top-floor conference room the homeowner can communicate with his wife via the home’s intercom system, monitor the home’s security-system cameras via a touch screen, and determine if any windows or doors are unlocked or open.

Selecting the padlock icons on the touch screen’s main page will bring up a layout of each floor. Any doors that have been bypassed or unlocked are indicated. A green-colored window is closed, while a red-colored window indicates it is open.

The gym features the same technology as the other rooms in the home: lighting and HVAC control, security system access, as well as intercom and paging capabilities. The space is equipped with two 40-inch LCDs, as well as multiple stereo zones.

The massive automation system allows the owner to monitor the numerous mechanical systems—from water pumps to flood systems—via any touch screen on the estate.

The system, says Harper, can notify the homeowner of any problems with the appropriate error message. “He has a very valuable wine collection,” says Harper, “so we monitor the wine room carefully.”

The weather station tells the automation system when the blinds should descend and rise. In the winter, the solar blinds rise at specific times so that the sun can warm the home naturally.

2009 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Award Winner

Best Integrated Home: Overall Winner

Electronic Systems Consutlant: T&T Automation Ltd.—British Columbia, Canada

When Tony Harper, the managing director of T & T Automation Ltd., was hired to handle all the a/v and automation for a sprawling 35,000-square-foot residential compound in Vancouver, Canada, it’s fair to say that the word “imposing” crossed his mind.

Thankfully, with T & T’s roster of highly trained professionals and its vast resume of elite technological and installation experience, the word “impossible” did not.

“At the time, this estate was one of the biggest projects we had ever worked on,” Harper says. “The design process for the overall automation system took three full months.”

The client’s mandate, he continues, was “if it could be integrated, automated or controlled, it should be included in the plan, but not just included—it had to be executed well with the best technology available.”

The guest bedroom is wrapped in custom woodworking and features a 42-inch Sharp LCD television, as well as a 5.1 surround-sound system.

This extraordinary estate home—loaded with 31 touch screens, 48 zones of audio, 32 zones of video, more than 1,000 lighting circuits, 240 window coverings, 24 flat-screen televisions and more than 100 keypads—has consumed the energies of seven T & T employees for three years to date (the completion for all of the estate’s external buildings is estimated to take another year).

“The coolest thing was that the client wanted the project done properly—there were no compromises,” Harper adds.

From the get-go, the client had his wish list in hand: He wanted numerous touch screens and wireless remotes throughout the house, as well as extensive voice and data networking, a full-blown home theater, and an elaborate security system so he could reference the status of any window or door on the property with ease. After all, only two people—the client and his wife—reside in the capacious home.

So if each spouse is working on opposite ends of the property with thousands of square foot in between, the husband can, for example, communicate with his wife via the home’s extensive intercom and paging system. In addition, he can also ensure that his wife is safe by monitoring the security cameras and checking to see if any locked doors have been breached.

Every element of this home was extensively thought out—from the massive concrete walls to the extremely sophisticated automation system. “The home was built to last 200 years,” says Harper. “The client wanted the property to remain in the family for many years, so it was built to last.”

Not surprisingly, the monstrosity of this estate dictated the complexity of the huge, complex behind-the-scenes automation system. “Because of its size, the house is constructed in commercial-grade building techniques and electronics,” Harper says, adding that his team connected all of the inner-building technological workings via fiber-optic cabling. “It’s a massive automation system—the residential equivalent of a building management system.