Floor-to-ceiling high walls of glass with a city view and beyond might be a homeowner’s dream, but it could have been a nightmare for the A/V integrator on this job.
The clients not only wanted an architectural showcase, they wanted a comfortable home and to be able to watch TV during the day, or a movie at night on a projection screen in the main living space.
As with any display installation, the environmental conditions of the room and the intended use served as considerations — major ones in this case — for local installer @Audio, Automation & Theater (@AAT).
“You have to be very conscious of ambient light, and you need to be conscious of screen size,” says Kevin Collins, founder of @AAT. For this demanding room, Collins chose the 20,000 ANSI lumen Digital Projection TITAN Quad projector.
Big Brightness …
The TITAN Quad is more often specified into professional A/V venues than residences.
To that Collins says, “We produce luxury items, and as far as a luxury item goes DP projectors are nice because there are no limiting factors. There’s no, ‘We can do 90 percent of what you want.’”
Paired with a custom 120-inch Stewart Filmscreen projection screen, the living room entertainment is an elite experience. In addition to the motorized screen being tucked into the ceiling, a Crestron shading system lowers from the same area. (See the slideshow.)
Dan Cater, project manager at @ATT, stresses that given the walls were all glass, the TITAN Quad’s high brightness was ideal because the image is very watchable even during the day with the shades up. Sonance architectural speakers and a Sunfire in-wall subwoofer serve up the audio.
… And Even Bigger Teamwork
The living room screen can be seen from the kitchen, home office and other vantage points. A 5,500-lumen DP M-Vision Cine 400 projector lights up a similar setup in the master bedroom.
“Working with the general contractor, we had them build a large box to house the projectors and keep them cool. With just an opening for the lens, you can’t see the projector at all,” says Cater.
The challenging project proved a perfect example of designer, architect and integrator working in a symbiotic relationship; @AAT teamed mainly with general contractor Malone Construction Company, Kuo Diedrich Architects and Wendy Blount Interior Design.
“We met as a unified team and kept refining the whole project,” says Cater.
