There are smart homes and then there are smart homes, and Crestron is here to honor the latter. On Monday, October 16, the electronics company announced the winners of the 2017 North American Crestron Home Technology Awards, which honor unique applications of, what else, Crestron technologies in the home. Sure, you may have Alexa-enabled devices in your living room, or Philips Hue lightbulbs in your bedroom, but the households that these awards are celebrating practically live and breathe connectivity (not to mention size and scale).
“Our brand-new North American Crestron Home Technology Award program recognizes the cutting-edge projects that exceeded customer’s expectations,” Crestron vice president John Clancy said. And truly, these winners are, in a word, excessive. Here’s a look at the 2017 Crestron Home Technology Awards.
Most Unique Application: Logic Integration ‘Ultimate Man Cave’
The 14,000-square-foot behemoth of a home sits atop 90 acres of land in Castle Pines, Colorado. Effectively a living advertisement for Crestron, it boasts lighting, audio, video, and home automation from the company. Oh, and by the way, you can apparently hear and feel the audio system even from within the pool.
Best Design & Engineering: DC Home Systems “Playhouse Lakeside Retreat”
Another sprawling property, this 15,000-square-foot lodge in New Hampshire seeks to “delight all visitors with entertainment and limitless fun.” And with a 1,200-square-foot cinema, a four-lane bowling alley, full-sized basketball court, and more, there’s plenty of fun to be had. And thanks to Crestron’s automated systems, the entire building boasts distributed music and video, advanced lighting, climate control, motorized shades, surveillance, and more.
Best Design Meets Tech: Osbee Industries Inc. ‘The Fifth Avenue Duplex’
This duplex penthouse is a more modest 6,000 square feet, but it’s really all about the Central Park view. The property was meant to combine form and function, and as such, features remote sensors that were hand-painted to match the custom finishes of the walls, as well as hand-anodized Crestron Ascent faceplates for the keypads and custom metal touchscreen bezels.
Best Lighting Application: Casaplex ‘Wildcat’
Seeing as the exterior of this 10,500-square-foot home in Virginia is made completely of glass, it’s no wonder that its owners needed a serious lighting and shading control solution. The residence’s doors, windows, shades, fixtures, and lighting scenes can all be controlled with an iPad. Plus, the lighting and shading are tied to the security system — any time an alarm is triggered, the home’s lights will turn on and flash, while shades will lower.
Ultimate Crestron Home: AHT ‘Ultimate Miami Beach Home’
This award celebrates the ultimate in Crestron integration, and there were not one, but two such projects worthy of the award. First is the Ultimate Miami Beach Home, whose intuitive audio/video, lighting, security, CCTV, HVAC, in-ceiling TV lifts, and pool/spa controls throughout the interior and exterior of the property. Even the wine room is integrated with Crestron HVAC, lighting and audio/video controls.
Ultimate Crestron Home: Smart Home Innovations ‘Bel Air Home’
The second winner of the Ultimate Crestron Home Award, this 40,000-square-foot mansion features 12 bedrooms, five fully appointed bars, a two-lane bowling alley, home theater, sports court, wine room, pool with waterfall, and more. And of course, all of its electronics are controlled entirely by Crestron.
The Ultimate Crestron SuperYacht: AHT Marine ‘Hasna’
Finally, check out this 73-meter “Super Yacht,” which features strategically placed Crestron touch panels, hand-held remotes, iPads, and Cameo keypads throughout for both navigation and audio and video control’s sake. Nearly 200 speakers and subwoofers, and over 30 displays can be found on board.
