Smart Building Features Fabulous Riverwalk House

Riverwalk is a stylish apartment building in a highly sought-after location on the banks of the River Thames in Westminster, London. The luxurious development, designed by Stirling Prize winning architects Stanton Williams, features a striking curved exterior that parellels the organic camber of the river below.

There are two buildings within the development; the West Building features 16 floors while the East Building has a further 6 floors, making a total of 116 apartments including a sublime duplex penthouse. Riverwalk’s interior has been carefully considered to maximise natural light and space, making the most of the incredible views across the Thames. Interior designer studio, United Design Partners, created an opulent scheme that exudes sophisticated, glamorous city-living.

The developers of Riverwalk, Ronson Capital Partners, approached integration expert Smartcomm for the AV, lighting and IT installation. To ensure Smartcomm met the full project brief, they needed to deliver a high quality smart home system that was stylishly discreet and easy-to-use. Smartcomm chose to integrate the Crestron solution to deliver this and much more.Smartcomm selected the intuitive Crestron solution to provide a streamlined platform to manage and connect the technology within each apartment, including all audio and visual sources, lighting and heating, directly controlling it via simple Crestron touch panels. Another smart feature which is programmed into each touch panel, allows the apartment to communicate directly with the Riverwalk Concierge service for added convenience.

The technology within each living space is exceptional. In the living rooms you’ll find 5.1 surround sound systems for an authentic cinema experience in your own home, while the bathrooms are fitted with Aquavision TV’s. Smartcomm integrated each device into the Crestron solution, to be controlled with a bespoke touch screen or via the Crestron Pyng app on a smart device.

“It was important that the owners of the apartments, their families and the staff, would be able to manage the controls and technology easily,” comments Steven Worrell of Smartcomm, “People are used to using touch interfaces with smart phones and apps, it becomes almost second nature. The bespoke Crestron touch screens interface provides a high degree of intuitive use, within a few minutes of showing the homeowner how it works; they are very comfortable using it.”

With interior design being an important selling point for this development, the technology had to blend seamlessly with the sophisticated scheme. Smartcomm flush-mounted the touch screens within polished chrome faceplates that enhance the interior and subtly positioned on the walls. The hidden entral AV racks in each apartment in discreet, space-saving units within the living areas for easy, unobtrusive maintenance and upgrades.

The future-proof solution is scalable to allow for the introduction of enhanced AV equipment, such as 4K ultra high HDMI video, 100” 3D TV’s, Mirror Screens, Blu Ray and other sources which are not available as standard in each apartment. It can also be easily upgraded and customised to suit the changing requirements of the home owner, for example if they wanted to include curtain or blind automation. Many of the apartments have been purchased as investments and technology upgrades options are essential for maintaining the wow-factor and increasing the property’s value in the future.

“The large range of products available from Crestron, gives us lots of flexibility when we’re designing solutions.” Says Steven Worrell. He continues, “At Riverwalk there is no limit on the level of automation obtainable, it’s up to the homeowner as to how far they want to take the level of control, and with Crestron we can meet their exact requirements”

Laurence Ronson of Ronson Capital Partners comments “We’ve worked with Crestron in the past and are very open minded to their outstanding knowledge of the market place. We like to work with an established team of people, who understand what we ultimately want out of the development and people that we know we can rely on to deliver that.”

The project took Smartcomm 18 months to complete and the result is exceptional. The intuitive interior not only echoes the modern and sophisticated design of the building, but also the splendour of its setting. With the Tate Modern as its neighbour and the sculptural works of Henry Moore and Peter-Randall-Page on its doorstep, this luxurious Crestron-integrated residence has become a desirable address for the discerning, design-savvy and affluent smart buyer.