Multi-Room Entertainment Systems Portfolio

 


Battersea Basement

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The Challenge...

The client had decided to add an extensive basement under a substantial Victorian home. The space was divided into a play area and a more formal TV watching and cinema area with a bar. A utility room and guest bedroom were also added.

The play area needed to be robust enough to cope with indoor football and cricket practise and then convert into a dance area at night. The home cinema had to be concealed when not in use and a flat screen provided for more casual day time viewing.

The whole basement needed to be well lit, with easy controls to turn off the whole area from the entrance. The lighting also needed to adapt to the different uses of the space through the day and into the evening.

The entertainment system also needed to be extended to the rest of the property to enable easy access to music and Sky. Apart from some minor redecoration in parts, the rest of the property was not being touched, so the addition of the entertainment system had to be as discreet as possible.

Beyond the Invisible were engaged to provide the lighting design and control, and the design and implementation of the home cinema and entertainment systems.

PLAY AREA

This area was specifically designed for the boys to let of steam particularly in the winter when it is too cold and wet to play outside. For this reason the client didn’t want to restrict the activities too much.

Safety and reliability were prime concerns as a direct hit from a ball could damage an in-ceiling speaker or light fitting. Kef Soundlight speakers were chosen as they have a smaller profile, the multiple outlets also helped with the sound dispersion for the room. The control keypad was placed just outside the door.

CINEMA

An electric drop down projector screen was mounted on the ceiling, just in front of the bay window. The client was very keen to preserve as much ceiling height as possible, so due to the ceiling construction in this area it wasn’t possible to conceal the screen in the ceiling. The screen casing was positioned so that it would be as unobtrusive as possible. The projector was mounted on the ceiling. The speakers were flush mounted in the ceiling to keep the space looking as clean as possible.

A flat screen was flush mounted into the cabinetry to provide a more casual viewing experience in daylight. Selecting the display automatically switches the sound from the ceiling speakers to the speakers around the TV.

The cinema is used extensively by the family for watching sport and movies and also for gaming on a Wii.

LIGHTING DESIGN AND CONTROL

The lighting design has two functions, the first to provide good bright light into a potentially dark basement, and secondly glamorous lighting for evening entertaining.

The bar area was a special area of focus. We worked closely with the interior designers to ensure that the lighting highlighted the main features. The bottles behind the bar are lit from underneath, and the electroluminescent strip was used to highlight the plinth.

The cabinetry in the cinema features punch backs to display glass and other ornaments. Slim fitting LED lights were used in each cavity to highlight the objects. The lights are slightly blue toned were used to complement the aubergine colour and to highlight the glass.

The base of the bay window provided a natural stage, which is covered by seating cushions. The older girls enjoy dressing up and staging photo shoots, so we installed stage style lights to illuminate this area.

The whole basement is controlled via a Clipsal C-Bus lighting control system. Elegant glass and steel switches are used to control the lights in each area, and a touch panel at the top of the stairs is used to control the whole basement when entering or exiting.

MULTI-ROOM ENTERTAINMENT

Two Speakercraft 6 source 6 zone multi-room entertainment systems were used to distribute music, Sky and DVD in the basement and principal rooms in the rest of the home. All the music is stored on a Speakercraft Mode Jukebox. Adding music is simply a matter of inserting a CD. It is then automatically copied and the artist and track information downloaded from the internet. The information is then available on the keypads in each room, making it very easy to find music.

The Mode Jukebox has four outputs, so up to four different streams of music can be played simultaneously, ideal for families with varying musical tastes.

An iPod dock was also added so visitors could bring their own music. By docking the iPod the contents are made available in every room; again the artist and track information appears on the keypads making searching for favourite tunes easy.

THE RESULT

The space is very popular with both the adults and children in the property and is in continual use. The controls are simple and easy to use, important given the age range of the users.

The cinema was a finalist in the 2008 CEDIA awards for best home cinema under £20,000.

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