Crestron opened its first UK Design Centre Showroom on London’s Chelsea Harbour yesterday – three years after plans were initially made to replicate facilities of a similar nature in the US.
The new site is located inside Design Centre Chelsea, a 2200sqft residential interior design facility boasting shops for carpets, furniture, bathrooms, lighting and more. During the grand opening Robin van Meeuwen (pictured right), vice president, Crestron International, emphasised that technology should be considered from the first instance when designing a room’s interior – and this view was a key factor in the company’s long and diligent process in finidng the perfect home for the centre inside the now six-month-old Design Centre Chelsea.
The showroom is open to interior designs, integrators, architects and homeowners to experience the entire Crestron portfolio integrated into a show home interior.
Within the space is a fully functional personal conference room integrated with Crestron RL Technology. The Microsoft Lync-based system was fully certified by the software giant 10 days before the grand opening. Crestron control room systems, lighting, speakers, sensors and more are installed throughout the showroom but little catches the eye as was the idea with the company having hired renowned designer Louise Bradley to design the space.
Elsewhere, there is a family room adorned with Crestron in-wall and in-ceiling speakers networked by a Crestron iServer Network Audio Server. Control for this is from a 5.7in TST-600-B-T wireless touchscreen, with other control options also showcased in the space.
A homecinema system with a drop down projector screen is run by a Crestron DigitalMedia 8G+ Receiver & Room Controller w/Scaler, while another family room incoporates Crestron Aspire 8in two-way In-ceiling speakers and in-ceiling light and motion detectors and temperature and humidity sensors.
The annual Crestron Residential Integration Awards are also due to be held at the facility in October.