Background
Melbourne-based Englehart Homes strives to set the highest standards for custom and luxury homebuilders in Victoria, Australia. Founded more than 33 years ago, the company has enjoyed a series of successes that include awards for the HIA Professional Builder of the Year, MBA Master Builder of the Year, Best National Display Home, Best Custom Home and Best Luxury Home.
Recently, their ‘La Provence’ show home has won the MBAV 2012 Best Display Home over $700,000, the HIA Best Display Home over $1 million, Best Display Home Overall, Herald Sun Home Magazine Readers Choice Award, Best New Kitchen over $40,001 and Best Bathroom in Display.
The Englehart brand is synonymous with custom quality, luxury homes, value for money and exceptional customer service. Englehart aim to be the leaders in design, innovation, building quality and service. In order to demonstrate the quality and workmanship that goes into its homes – and to help capture the imagination of prospective customers – Englehart Homes uses completed projects as show homes. While floorplans are tailored to the exact customer requirements, the display properties demonstrate the latest innovations and design features that can be designed into a home.
Typically, a show home will be used for a number of years to demonstrate Englehart’s capabilities before being sold. A good example is six-star-rated ‘La Provence’ in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn North.
The challenge
The design brief for La Provence was to capture the grandeur of a provincial French chateau, with details that include bespoke wrought-iron cresting, French-Oak parquetry floors, a striking spiral staircase and a leadlight dome, created from 1200 pieces of coloured glass.
Given the target market sector, it was also important to incorporate the luxury, ease-of-use and automation of an integrated control platform to complement the overall feel of the house. Enhanced Media Link owner and Integration Consultant, Keith Saunders, strongly recommended a Philips Dynalite lighting control solution.
The main criteria for the lighting and lighting control design was for a state-of-the-art, energy-saving system that allows integration of the blinds, security, HVAC and AV systems.
It was essential for the control system to support a number of preset scenes and lighting moods, while being simple enough to facilitate intuitive operation.
While La Provence is functioning as a show home, the predominant requirement is to be able to turn all the lights on or off at the press of a single button, to aid the sales staff with viewings. The control platform needed the flexibility to facilitate complete reprogramming when the house is subsequently sold to meet the specific demands of the eventual owners.
The solution
Throughout the house, a number of chandeliers deliver a sense of understated opulence, while most lighting is provided through dimmable LED luminaires and Philips Dynalite leading-edge controllers.
Additional relay and multipurpose controllers have been used for exhaust fans, garden lighting, blinds and secondary non-dimming lighting circuits in utility areas.
Revolution DR2P user interfaces comprise single- and dual column black borosilicate glass switchplates, each featuring silver-engraved buttons with blue LED backlights. Some of the panels are engraved with Chinese characters.
Dynalite produces a control platform that is as capable and flexible as anything else currently on the market, while providing a solution that is far more robust than most. Dynalite’s design features – such
as engraved light switches – were important to complement the character of such a prestige home.
The finished system works effortlessly well and perfectly complements the style and ambience of La Provence, without becoming the overriding focus and detracting from the house design. With La Provence, the Dynalite system provides an automation solution that delivers absolute system control in a way that is intuitive while being subtle and unobtrusive.
Englehart Homes has already received considerable interest in the Dynalite control systems and – with several quotes currently in progress – the future partnership between Englehart Homes, Enhanced Media Link and Philips Dynalite looks assured.
Benefits
Dynalite produces a control platform that is as capable and flexible as anything else currently on the market, while providing a solution that is far more robust than most. Dynalite’s design features – such as engraved light switches – were important to complement the character of such a prestige home.
The finished system works effortlessly well and perfectly complements the style and ambience of La Provence, without becoming the overriding focus and detracting from the house design. With La Provence, the Dynalite system provides an automation solution that delivers absolute system control in a way that is intuitive while being subtle and unobtrusive.
Englehart Homes has already received considerable interest in the Dynalite control systems and – with several quotes currently in progress – the future partnership between Englehart Homes, Enhanced Media Link and Philips Dynalite looks assured.
