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It’s Done! Technology helps create cool £16m Kensington pad

If you’ve always hankered after a London pad complete with basement pool, home cinema, sauna and the latest audio and video technology then you’re in luck. Provided you’ve got £16m to spend.

If you’ve always hankered after a London pad complete with basement pool, home cinema, sauna and the latest audio and video technology then you’re in luck. Provided you’ve got £16m to spend. Just a few minutes from bustling Kensington High Street you can find some of London’s most desirable residences. With space at a premium in this part of the capital, many are resorting to basement excavation to make more of their valuable real estate. One such visionary developer has built a luxurious, five-bedroom family home on a neglected plot of land, flanked by existing properties. On the surface the house seems akin with neighbouring residences, but inside is a different story.

Across its three underground basement floors, the house features an impressive home cinema which doubles as a secure panic room should intruders break into the property. In the second basement, a gym, sauna, jacuzzi are located adjacent to a concealed swimming pool which sits beneath a dance-floor space for 60 people. At the press of a touchscreen button the floor sinks automatically to reveal the pool, with the depth fully adjustable up to nine feet.@page_break@ 
London-based installer It’s Done! Technology was briefed to create an extensive smart system encompassing lighting, security, HVAC, ICT, entry phone, motorised blinds and AV, including the dedicated home cinema and media room. The installation needed to offer future-proof expandability and could not impact the property’s impeccable interior design. Finally, as a development site, the client had budget restrictions. A Crestron home automation system integrates control of all the various house systems. Easy access is enabled through in-wall touch panels and wireless touch-screens; positioned in every bedroom and all communal areas. These can also be used as a house intercom. To further enhance ease of use, It’s Done! Technology has designed a bespoke interface with custom icons making navigation as intuitive as possible. The same interface is available via an iPad. A Crestron Lighting Control system, incorporating 140 circuits, enables scene lighting throughout the property to enhance the ambience and compliment the exquisite interiors. Eighteen separate stereo zones have been set-up through the Crestron system, controlled by multi-channel amps, to ensure optimum listening conditions in all areas of the property. Media sources, including a Kaleidescape media server, Sky HD and Blu-ray, with content distributed to 11 different TVs and screens.@page_break@Considerable care has been taken to ensure the equipment is as “invisible” as possible. This includes the installation of discrete in-ceiling speakers and recessed TVs to minimise disruption to the natural lines and beauty of the space. In the main living space the giant LG plasma screen is flanked by invisible speakers from Stealth Acoustics, which have been plastered over, but nevertheless deliver impeccable sound quality. Intruder and fire alarms have also been fully integrated into the Crestron system. Provisions have been made for communication with biometric fingerprint access control while sensors activate anti-flooding pumps in case of emergency. Biometric entry also protects access to the wine cellar, where the temperature is preserved at optimum levels by the Crestron control system. The main system equipment is housed in two pull-out racks situated next to immaculately dressed patching cabinets. The structured wiring has been designed to meet all foreseeable future demands, with multiple Cat6 cables running to each TV point, as well as local media points, data and telephone sockets. All AV and IT distribution equipment has been specified with flexibility and expandability in mind. Additional Cat6 cables are installed in various areas of the house to provide Wi-Fi, RF, Zigbee access points and future-ready wireless systems. Not just the sockets and patch panels, but all patch cables, including those in “hidden” areas have been appropriately labelled to simplify the use and maintenance of the system.@page_break@It’s Done! Technology has successfully achieved a flawless installation using state-of-the-art technology to its full potential to facilitate a luxurious lifestyle. Besides adding considerable financial value to the property, the installer has achieved efficiency, practical sophistication and a final touch of class to an exceptional project. From the client’s perspective it was completed quickly and to very exacting standards and was the only aspect of the project not to go over budget. The project was recognised by the industry trade association CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) at its 2012 Awards. It’s Done! Technology was Highly Commended in the Best Integrated Home £100,000 – £250,000 category for enhancing both the practical and aesthetic potential of this London property. Equipment List:12 x Crestron Wall-mounted 5.7” Touch Panels with speaker kits 6 x Crestron 2.8″ Handheld Wireless Touch panel featuring infiNET EX 2 x Waterproof Handheld Remote 3 x In-wall iPod dock 1 x Cinema Screen 1 x 3D Blu-ray player 3 x Monitor Audio in-wall cinema speakers 4 x Monitor Audio in-ceiling cinema speakers 32 x Monitor Audio in-ceiling speakers 9 x Single Stereo in-ceiling speakers 2 x 12” Active SubWoofer 1 x 15” Active SubWoofer 2 x External weather proof speakers 3 x Invisible in-wall speakers 1 x Extreme waterproof Single Stereo in-ceiling speaker 1 x HDMI Matrix Switcher (8 x 16) 2 x Middle Atlantic pull-out rack cabinets 4 x Middle Atlantic patching frames Set of patch panels for data, audio-video, control and power 1 x Draytek Router 1 x 24-port Gigabit PoE Ethernet Switch 1 x 48-port Gigabit Ethernet Switch 1 x Panasonic PBX 4 x Crestron Processors 1 x Kaleidescape Server 2 x Kaleidescape Players 1 x Sky + HD 1 x Crestron Audio Matrix Switcher 1 x Crestron Audio (entry phone and intercom) Matrix Switcher 1 x Crestron Video (entry phone and intercom) Matrix Switcher 1 x Crestron Telephone Interface 4 x Crestron Multi-channel Amplifier 1 x APC Backup UPS Cooling fans, vent panels and cable management 1 x DMX Controller 1 x Full HD 3D Projector 1 x 64″ Full HD 3D Plasma 1 x 55” High Definition LED TV 2 x 42” High Definition 3D LED TV 4 x 32” High Definition LED TV 1 x 26” High Definition LCD TV 1 x 26” High Definition Mirror TV 2 x Denon AVRs 1 x Pioneer Cinema Receiver 7 x Wi-Fi Access Points 5 x Zigbee Access Points 4 x External CCTV cameras 8 x Internal hidden CCTV cameras 2 x CCTV DVRs Crestron Lighting Control system controlling 140 circuits with 33 control keypads 2 x iPad www.itsdone-technology.com