Just outside of Reykjavik, overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean, lies a seaside villa pushing the boundaries of luxury living in every way. Initially built in 2006, new ownership in 2016 resulted in the complete reconstruction of the entire home’s interior layout and interior design. Sourcing entirely from Icelandic talent, the new owner put together a team of the best architects and designers (Studio Grandi and interior designer Selma Agustdottir) to create this stunning home.
The new homeowners wanted the home’s new design to reflect the very best in Scandanavian and modern design narratives, as well as the very best in smart technology and home automation. For this, the homeowners turned to Nordic Smart Spaces. By collaborating directly with the architects and designers throughout the project’s entirety, we integrated home automation solutions for the entire home that was often hidden entirely from view. In all of our projects, we strive to be involved in the design process as well as the build and support processes.
A popular trend in new homes, especially Scandinavian builds, is an open-concept interior design with plenty of glass that provides plenty of natural light. Above all, there’s a clean, cohesive design narrative, and this home is no exception. Every room in this home affords sweeping views of the ocean and countryside perfectly juxtaposed with the home’s interior’s clean, industrial style.
One of the biggest challenges we ran into with this project was integrating technology. Especially a whole home audio solution, that did not detract from the specific design of the home. It needed to meld seamlessly with the aesthetics of the space or be completely hidden from view. Meanwhile, still providing unique technology experiences that both enhanced and simplified the lives of the homeowners.
For the home’s audio system, we turned to Amina and their revolutionary invisible loudspeakers. Hidden behind the plaster of the walls and ceilings, Amina invisible speakers provide an incredible audio experience. These were used in the home’s living areas, including the kitchen, dining room, study, bedrooms, and living room. We have brought Amina speakers into many clients’ homes, and they are utilized worldwide in museums, hotels, and other luxury residences. A total of 20 Amina Edge5 invisible speakers partner with 5 Amina ALF subwoofers throughout the entire home.
For the audio distribution, three Savant Pro Audio 4’s provide streaming, AVB-based distribution, and amplification for a total of 12 independent zones for whole home audio. The Savant Pro Audio 4 is an all-in-one music solution. It includes a 50- or 125-watt amplifier, integrated audio processing, and four zones of high-quality audio that syncs between rooms.
By integrating Amina invisible speakers and Savant audio, we provided an incredible audio experience for the homeowners that are completely hidden throughout the home.
In this ocean-side villa, we harnessed the home’s diverse technology and brought it all together into one integrated system. This meant tying together audio from Amina, TVs from Samsung, lighting from KNX, shade control from Lutron, controls from Basalte and physical security from 2N to provide an immersive and intuitive technology experience for anyone using the home.
In almost every project we bring to life, we turn to Savant’s smart technology solutions to harness the home’s technology and bring it under one ecosystem. The ability to harness controls from almost any third-party solution on the market makes Savant a keystone facet in any smart home project we undertake, and a unique aspect of our smart home’s as we are the exclusive dealer of Savant in Iceland.
“The great thing about the Savant platform is that it allows for so many different integration possibilities. They’re not just saying they’ll only integrate with ‘XY&Z’ manufacturers. A big focus of theirs is increasing their compatibility and ease of programming. That was key for us on this project.”
Michael Oh, President of TSP Smart Spaces