DJ Media Room
The Project
This is the audiovisual and home automation equipment for a 300m2 flat located in a building over 200 years old in the Madrid neighborhood of Chueca.
- Integral control system with Crestron solutions
- Lighting Control - Crestron
- Climate Control - Gira - KNX
- Electronic Shades - Crestron
- 10 zones Audio Multiroom -Monitor Audio
- Home Cinema and TV
- Air Purification System
- Home Networking
- Security System
- Energy Management System
What makes this project unique?
This project was a great challenge in many ways:
- Audiovisual furniture in the living room:
- The speakers had to be hidden
- The equipment had to be hidden inside the cabinet, including the 55″ TV
- The neighbors could not be disturbed when they had a party or used the equipment
- We had no space in the cabinet: we had to put all the equipment at a height of 90 cm (including the TV)
- DJ Cart: A portable mixer with wireless audio transmission so the DJ could be located anywhere in the room
- A huge amount of equipment without space to install it, which forced us to distribute the equipment throughout the cabinets throughout the house.
- The equipment should have the least visual impact on the aesthetics of the flat.
- Minimalism in keyboards and screens
- No equipment or speakers could be seen.
The Challenge
In this house, several concepts were taken into account that marked the guidelines of the solution to be implemented:
- One of the great passions of the owner is to enjoy music, since he is a great DJ. In the first design meetings for the project, he told us about his passion and how we could integrate it into a very refined aesthetic.
- Lover of parties and a great connoisseur of music, the owner required a flat that would adapt to his needs not only on a day-to-day basis, but also during his events.
- Having a home with all the technological advances that support interior design. We had to make “invisible” all the powerful equipment in the different rooms.
- Complete acoustic insulation to protect neighbors from noise
- Have the best audio equipment for DJs integrated into the home.
As architectural features, the project handles a number of details that make it a unique work.
- Open and diaphanous spaces that allow maximum visual space and use of natural light.
- Custom lighting design to be integrated into the wooden ceiling.
- Marble wall over 20 meters long that mimics hidden doors.
- Noble materials used as natural wood floors and stone walls
- Carpentry and decoration in the style of the 50s, which give a feeling of warmth and elegance.
Under these requirements, we designed together with the architecture and the property a technological system that would allow the integration of the different systems in the smallest space.
The system was thought to be hidden from visitors while continuing to amaze attendees with the quality of audio and video that the floor offers.
The jewel of this project: Social Media Room
Whole project is based on the idea of being able to throw big parties, so the soundproofing, the chosen equipment and the way of using the technology had to be very well designed.
One of the great technological and design bets of the project was to manage to mimic the speakers and AV equipment, within the diaphanous space of the project.
In terms of space, we were very limited by the soundproofing carried out throughout the project, so we had very tight spaces to solve the audiovisual requirements of the room:
- home theater
- Audio Stereo
- DJ party
- Ambiental music
- karaoke
Seeing the requirements of having a clean cabinet and open spaces, we are concerned with the design of the central cabinet and hidden speakers.
The basic premise in the design of the piece of furniture is that it could not exceed 90 cm in height. This was a great challenge for us! To find a solution we had to work hand in hand with the entire interior designer and the carpenter, and the result is truly surprising.
The equipment installed in the cabinet is made up of
- Two decks and Mixing table of the Pioneer brand
- 4 Shure SM58 Karaoke Microphones
- Signal processing system by London
- A computer for the Karaoke system
- 55” Oled TV
- Home Theater Speakers (5.1)
- Rack
- Amplification and audio and video processing signals with the Crestron HDI-XSPA system
- Audio Monitor Amplification for the 2 Subwoofers
- Hidden DJ Cart with Mixing Desk by Pionner
A custom-made motor from the Future Automation brand was installed to raise and lower the TV and two twin TS 700 C motors from the Vencet brand that raised the two turntables and the mixer.
The Home Cinema speakers (4 Artacoustic speakers for the L-R channels and 2 Monitor Audio subwoofers) were installed hidden in the rear wall of the cabinet where the acoustic drawers were embedded. A special fabric completely hides these speakers without affecting the very high audio quality of these speakers.
But the central speaker of the home cinema presented a new challenge, since it could not be installed under the TV (where it is usually installed). To provide a solution, we worked hand in hand with James Speaker, who custom-made two speakers installed on the sides of the 55” Oled TV.
In the lower right part of the cabinet, a custom-made rack was installed, which houses all the input and output electronics of this cabinet.
To comply with the requirement of not disturbing neighbors, we use London’s digital filtering technology to avoid feedback and low-frequency transmissions that could affect neighbors. Depending on the time, the system automatically corrects and levels these frequencies to cause the least possible inconvenience.
Additionally, we implemented a system with which we control the doorbell and after 1:00 am if there is a knock on the door, system automatically lowers the audio to a level permitted by law.
When the user selects the “party mode”, the center channel signal is cut and activates two other rear speakers of the same reference as the front ones, giving a totally surround sound.
DJ trolley
Undoubtedly, one of the systems that make this project unique is a cart that includes a second motorized mixing table with wireless audio transmission.
This structure comes from the central piece of furniture, but since it is lower than the required height, we installed 2 Twin Vencent motors to adapt the equipment to the DJ height.
In the original design, it had been proposed that the audio transmission of this car would be by cable, but seeing how it would be managed, we wanted to take a step forward and implemented the stereo wireless transmission to the central system through 2 SKP-100-G4 Sennheiser transmitters. .
Control system
The home control system is made up of several systems. Through the central system you have access to all the subsystems: lighting, air conditioning, audiovisuals, etc.
The central system and brain of the system is Crestron, with 2 CP4 processors and as user interface touch screens, mobile/tablet app and keyboards on walls.
Thanks to this control system, all the complex functionality that the systems installed in the home have are simplified through buttons that execute “macros”. Thus, for example, when the owner presses “watch TV in the living room”, all the equipment (including lighting and blinds) are configured to give the best experience to the user, who only has to worry about choosing the program he wants to watch.
One of the most important points was installing Black Nova brand keyboards that were sent to the factory for marking before finishing the project, so that all the functionality of lights, blinds and air conditioning were defined from the beginning with the architect and the property.
Lighting control
As it could not be otherwise, the architectural design of the project was very complex: large stone walls, ceilings made to measure in wood to make the most of the heights (construction with vaults), the requirement of being able to put works of art. We were asked to install luminaires that would fulfill their functions in just 8 cm in diameter, since we did not want any protrusion to be seen on any of them so that the ceiling would look as clean as possible.
The lighting had two different concepts: one that had a great light quality to give prominence to the works of art, and on the other hand, having an aesthetic functional lighting that could be integrated with the rest of the lighting.
All lighting is controlled by the Crestron Dali system, with some sockets (Basalte brand) controlled for ground lights.
Electronic Shades – Natural Light Control
The room has Crestron brand digital roller blinds which give a sense of aesthetic and auditory cleanliness, since the motor drawers were made to measure so that only the exit of the fabric could be seen.
Additionally, the control system automatically lowers the blinds during the afternoon hours to protect the works of art from the sun.
The fabric used has a 5% opening allowing light to enter, but at the same time protects from the heat that Madrid gets in the spring and summer months.
Audio Multiroom
Among the audiovisual options that the house has, we have the option of having an audio multiroom, from the Monitor audio brand, with MS4 audio streaming. One of the zones is directly connected to the audio processor (London), in this way this signal, as required by the user, can be mixed with other signals such as microphones to sing with an audio base without requiring the use of Karaoke. Additionally, the signal generated in Karaoke mode and DJ mode allows the user to inject this signal to the other 10 areas of the house so that the whole house listens to the same “live” input, achieving a permanent show sensation. The Crestron integration module with audio monitor has been improved, giving the user a great user interface, with multiple control facilities.Air purification
Within the concepts of multipurpose use that we had in this room, we thought about how to achieve:- Purify the air for health issues (covid)
- Restore the air in the room in the shortest possible time with the least noise, to avoid bad odors due to the use of cigarettes by the guests.
Intrusion security system
From the control of the doorbell of the house to the invisible installation of sensors on the doors, invisible sensors of proximity sensors with specific wood work to achieve these objectives, security cameras, video intercom control, among others….. The security intrusion system was made a control module with the Crestron control system, so that the user had all the possibilities in the palm of his hand. In the kitchen and facilities room we have smoke sensors, installed directly on the grids to prevent them from being seen on the ceilings, and CO2 sensors, which are installed at floor height.Energy Management System
Through the Intesys measurement interface we have the permanent consumption of the home. Since it is an old building, the power supply must be single-phase, so consumption control must be permanent to prevent the panel protectors from tripping and generating enormous discomfort. With this information, the Crestron system has an action routine planned directly with the user: first, it would turn off the underfloor heating boiler, second, the air conditioning should slow down linearly, and finally, it would turn off audio zones (amplification).Networks and internet – Home Networking
Given the technological component, all the access points are hidden within the wooden elements, giving total wireless coverage to the entire house. 4 high-speed access points provide the necessary coverage for this project, additionally it has 2 high-speed switchers and a router that protects and manages the home network. We have several network points specially installed to provide solutions for future technological additions (IoT).Racks
How and where to install all the technology in a project where there is no space? After many meetings with the client and the architecture studio, the option of installing 4 racks in the project, distributed throughout the house, was given.
Lacking space, the decision was made to make custom racks of different sizes, with their respective fans, designed together with the carpenter. They have lower and upper holes to achieve a chimney effect and evacuate the heat generated.
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