Meticulously planned and engineered off-site prior to final
installation ñ and thatís just the house. George Cole asks
Marquee Home what itís like designing an installation
building thatís largely complete before it even arrives
Letís face it, however complicated the installation, most installs follow a familiar pattern: a consultation with the client, followed by a site survey, where rooms can be measured and assessed, and then the design process and installation. But what if your clientís house hasnít even been built? And what if your system design has to be signed off almost a year before any building even commences?
That was the situation facing Marquee
Home, a multi-room AV, control and integration
specialist based in Surrey, England.
The reason for this somewhat unorthodox
approach to installation was because the
Berkshire-based client had purchased a innovative
form of housing created by the
German company Huf Haus. To say that Huf
Haus takes a radical approach to house
building and design is rather like saying the Pacific Ocean contains rather a lot of water.
The process involves the client specifying
the house design and dimensions, and after
signing a binding contract, having the house
built in a factory in Germany. The house,
which is composed predominately of glass
and timber, is then shipped over in kit form
to the clientís plot and assembled on-site.
The result is a stunning home that is a
world away from any preconceptions you
may have had about prefabrication.
Marquee Homeís client is an AV enthusiast
who had definite ideas about what he
wanted. ìWe have known his family for 10
years and there were a number of media solutions
we knew he wanted, including a very
high performance home theatre,î says Alasdair
Kidd, Marquee Homeís project manager.
One decision taken fairly early was to
implement a Crestron control system: ìIn
addition to staples of RF/Satellite distribution
and a local area network, the client
wanted audio distribution, CCTV, access control
and integration with the lighting and
blinds ñ automated by the [Huf Haus] supplied
KNX system. We had four or five
different systems that needed to be pulled
together into a single solution, all needing to
be controlled both by both wired and wireless
user interfaces, Crestron was the answer.î
So, was designing a complete AV solution
for a 1,500sq metre home that hadnít been
built a challenge, or a great opportunity?
After all, it meant starting with a blank piece
of paper. ìIt was a challenge for a number of
unique reasons but at the same time it was a
fascinating alternative to your typical project,î
says Kidd. ìYou start with a blank
canvas ñ much as you would with a typical
new build ñ and develop your solution; the
key difference with a Huf Haus is that your
design is signed off well in advance of the
building process.
ìTime usually available during construction
for a design to evolve and include
last-minute amendments is not available,î
Kidd explains. ìOnce the building process
begins in Germany you cannot add cable
routes or infrastructural detail. We had to
look almost a year into the future and make
some important choices, based on how we
saw the clients interacting with the property.
This was probably the toughest challenge.î
Marquee Home sat down with the client
and discussed ideas. Some solutions were
arrived at fairly quickly. The client, for example,
was already a Meridian customer and so
the decision to use their flagship 800 Series
Theatre system was obvious, both for the
performance the system offered and the
clientís belief in the brand. Some came later,
such as a wireless video interface for access
control and remote control of the garden
lighting. After designing the system and
receiving approval from the client it was a
case of producing all the required M&E documentation
(CAD drawings and other
integration tools) for the Huf Haus team.
ìWe flew to Germany to discuss the project
with them.î recalls Kidd. Marquee Home
had to produce very exact drawings for
equipment locations so Huf-Haus could
ensure ducts, risers and cable ways were in
place. After the house purchaser has signed
an agreement with Huf Haus, itís binding, so
thereís very little scope for any last-minute
changes of mind. This makes good business
sense as it means that the Huf Haus builders
donít have to make changes to the manufacturing
process.
ìOn the downside, it doesnít give much
scope for last-minute alterations. And, in
this case, the client did make one change to
the home AV specification after the ink had
dried on the Huf Haus contract…
ìIn the nine months between signing off
the design and awaiting the arrival of the
house, several new video servers had
appeared on the market and ñ with appealing
new price points ñ the owner was keen to
add one to the scheme,î says Kidd. ìVideo
distribution had been discussed at the start
of the project and sidelined but now, with
the idea of movies on demand around the
house, it was back on the table.î
Fortunately, Marquee Home had built
enough headroom within the original cable
solution so it was possible to install an HD
video distribution system through the Cat5
already planned.
After that, it was a case of waiting for the
house kit to arrive and for the building to
start. It took around two weeks for the house
to be constructed and then it was time for
the week-long first fix cabling process.
îThere were some nerves but everything
pulled together, says Kidd, ìIt was phenomenal
ñ it all happened so quickly. It was a case
of ëblink and you miss it.íî
Once first fix was complete, Marquee
Home undertook a complete test of the
wiring solution and to everyoneís relief
everything was fine, except for some minor
damage to a single Cat5e data cable, which
was easily worked around.
Interestingly, the owner wanted almost
all televisions and associated equipment to
be located on free standing cabinets, except
for the home theatre system which required
some bespoke joinery. Around the home,
speakers were placed on beams, touch pads
built into walls and wires carefully channelled
to the AV equipment sitting within
cabinets.
The equipment installation began
around Christmas 2007 and was essentially
complete by March, after which followed a
programming and integration process. Marquee
Home is still involved with the project,
making minor changes and updates as the
clients adapt to their new home. This is no
surprise when you consider the huge
amount of equipment and ground-breaking
technology installed in the Huf Haus.
The user interface is, as always, key to a
successful installation and dotted around
the home are a variety of Crestron touch
screens; including four 4-inch TPS-4L displays,
three TPMC-8x and one TPMC-8T
8-inch controller, plus a TPMC-8x-DSW inwall
dock for the TPMC-8x in the theatre.
The four TPMC-8Xs are all Wi-Fi- and
Ethernet-enabled touch panels, providing
internet access and multimedia streaming
over a wireless network. ìWeíve engineered
the system so that video from the CCTV
cameras and access control system can be
viewed wirelessly on each; you can be watching
a movie in the basement theatre, and if
the door bell rings, a live image of the visitor
pops up on the touch screen panel with buttons
to open the gate and allow them
access,î says Kidd.
The home cinema room is the centrepiece
of the install and accounts for almost 50 per
cent of the total cost. A tailored joinery solution
has been used to provide an attractive
home for the theatre system, theatre electronics
and multi-room electronics. This was
extended to all four walls and ceiling of the
theatre to provide fittings for lighting,
acoustic treatment and surround speakers.
Four Elite electrically reclining chairs provide
comfort for the viewers and a four-zone,
Lutron controlled, lighting system adds that
final touch.
Hidden away in the left rack are the
multi-room system components, while in the
right one is the home theatre equipment.
The home theatre system consists of a
Faroudja DILA1080pHD projector and
Screen Research X-Mask acoustically transparent
projection screen with adjustable
vertical masking. Meridian DSP7000 front
speakers, DSP5500c centre speaker, M2500
subwoofer and four A330 speakers are powered
by a Meridian G41 amplifier, with
Meridian reference 861 surround processor
and 800D reference DVD/CD player.
Other source components include an
Imerge MS5000 CD/DVD server, Sky HD
set-top box, Freesat HD set-top box, Pioneer
laser disc player, Pioneer CD recorder, plus
Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 games
consoles. A Crestron CP2e control processor,
TPMC8x touch panel and in-wall dock
makes the whole system easy to use.
In the living room is a Meridian G91
DVD/CD/DAB integrated player connected
to a pair of Meridian DSP5000 speakers.
However, itís the 65in Fujitsu plasma television
that catches the eye: ìFujitsu recently
pulled out of the plasma market, which is a
great shame, because itës a fine display,î says
Kidd. There is also a second PS3 console and
Toshiba HD DVD player. All are controlled
by an in-wall Crestron TPS4l and wireless
TPMC-8x.
The games room has a Paradigm Supernova
fixed frame projection screen to allow
the clientís existing SIM2 projector to operate
in a room with high ambient light levels,
a Yamaha surround processor and Monitor
audio speakers also taken from the clients
existing kit list complete the system in this
room. A Crestron TPS4l and Philips
TSU9400 remote control provide the user
interface.
Elsewhere around the property is a 40in
Loewe Individual Compose LCD TV in the
Master bedroom, along with a Panasonic
BD30 Blu-Ray player. Each of the guest bedrooms
has a 32in Loewe LCD TV, while the
ownersí son has a 37in Fujitsu Aviamo LCD
and an assortment of games consoles. In the
kitchen is a 26in wall mounted Loewe TV
that can be swivelled for viewing in both the
kitchen and dining areas. Discreetly connected
on beams around the house are Linn
UNIK speakers, while in the bathroom is a
set of B&W WM2 speakers. B&W WM4
speakers are used for the terrace.
The complete system cost more than
£200,000. Kidd says the client is very pleased
with the results: ìHe likes us to push the
boundaries with technology and he loves the
home cinema and media distribution system.
Also, when you walk into the house you
are not overwhelmed by technology. Itís only
when you enter the home theatre that you
get a sense of the power of the system.î
No surprises that the system includes
remote monitoring and control: ìWe can dial
in to various systems for remote diagnostics
and review current and past intersystem
communications,î says Kidd. And the work
isnít finished yet, the client already wants to
add to the media distribution system. The
Huf Haus is an extraordinary structure and
so itís fitting that it houses an extraordinary
AV/home automation system.
This article was originally published in Residential Systems Europe, October-November 2008
