The best apartment in Iceland
On the top floor of the tallest building in Iceland, a luxury penthouse overlooks snow-covered mountains, the deep blue ocean, and a stunning panoramic view of the downtown capital district. Windows throughout the space stretch from floor to ceiling to accent the impressive views and provide plenty of natural lighting. However, these views alone are not what makes this apartment spectacular.
What makes this apartment spectacular is the home automation solutions that bring comfort and convenience to every room. The views, the interior design, and the smart home solutions all combine to deliver an incredible experience and led Hús Og Híbÿli to declare this the “Best Apartment in Iceland.”
Services
Lighting controls
Network
AV
Climate control
Project Specifics
- Amina Invisible Speakers
- Cisco Meraki network
- LG 4K TVs
- Lutron customized Palladiom Keypads
- Lutron Homeworks QS system
- Savant in-wall touch screens
- Savant Music Server
- ProAV Audio and Video processors
- Sophos Firewall
- Wago Industrial HVAC controller
Partners
Savant and Lutron
A smart home is built best when the integrator is involved early in the design process. This was the case in this smart home apartment as we were able to work directly with the architect, Bjorn Skaptason of Atelier Arkitekta, to ensure the smart technology integrated was seamless and minimized aesthetic interference.
This was not the first time the homeowner had worked with a smart home system. In his previous apartment, the smart home system was a constant struggle. For example, tech support was over at his place so often he felt like he had a permanent houseguest fixing the system that never seemed to work as intended. With this new apartment, the goal was to have a system that worked as intended. When things do go awry, to have the ability to have fixes done remotely.
To ease his frustrations and ensure his daily life wouldn’t be constantly interrupted with tech support at his home, we turned to a combination of a Savant system with Lutron Homeworks lighting and shade controls. With this combination, we were able to tie together the home’s lighting, window treatments (crucial to blocking out the Midnight Sun), AV, climate control, security, and even the hot tub! Lutron’s DMX control interface allowed us to bring RGB controls to the lighting fixture seen above in a warm, glowing purple scene.
A tie-in to the garage unit
As seen in our project, Golfer’s Paradise, the garage space that went along with this penthouse was converted into a multi-purpose media room. With a golf simulator, home theater, and room leftover for car parking, the garage space functions in harmony with the penthouse. To facilitate the communication between the garage and the penthouse, we ran hundreds of feet of fiber optic cable between the top and bottom floor. This allowed us to keep both spaces on the same Cisco Meraki network. Above all, it lets the homeowner control all his smart technology on secure and segmented networks.
For access to both the garage and the penthouse, we integrated his Savant system directly with the building’s ICT security system. The same fob that gives him access to the building also lets him into his apartment or garage. Therefore, with the Savant integration, he can control access and view security cameras all from his smartphone or one of the Savant Touch control units in the home.
An ever-evolving home
A big proponent of smart technology, the owner of this penthouse is a self-proclaimed technophile. Every time a new piece of technology comes out he wants to find a way to bring it to his home. This interest in smart technology and his continued relationship with TSP Smart Spaces has led to his home continuing to be at the forefront of smart homes.
The original system was installed in 2014. We have performed many significant upgrades over the years to ensure the home stays up to date. These upgrades range from upgrading the wall controls to Savant touch screens, replacing the matrix system for AV with Savant AV-over-IP to allow for 4K TVs and sources, installing sleeker and smarter televisions, and the installation of Amina invisible speakers. The Amina speakers were the biggest upgrade to the home’s design. As they are (as the name suggests) completely invisible. Installed behind walls and ceilings, these speakers reduce aesthetic clutter without sacrificing sound quality.
Start your smart home journey
Feeling inspired by this apartment and want to bring some of this home automation to your own space? Begin your smart home automation journey today by contacting our home automation team. Want to see how smart home living works in apartment living? Check out our project, Condos with an IQ for inspiration!
Related article: Home Theater vs. Media Room