A couple of minutes walk from a hectic busy Oxford Street, in London’s West End, is an oasis of calm. I went to the Cornflake wise App-artment on a sunny day in July and its relaxing ambiance was a welcomed break from the warm as well as the crowds.
Beneath its unassuming glass facade lies a contemporary mock-home. opened just over a year back Cornflake have been pleased with the reaction to their show apartment, labelling it as an unmitigated success.
They show an typical 2 to 3 visitors each day around the property. Around half of those people are home owners while the other half are architects, contractors as well as other contractors keen to get a feel of exactly how wise house tech can work in their projects.
The Tour
The house is complete with living areas like a kitchen, games room, den as well as cinema. Tim Greenbank, CF’s manage Systems engineer showed us around the rooms which each function professionally designed lighting scenes, utilizing the latest LED fittings as well as even some great old incandescents too. CF’s experience couples the very best LED drivers to their many compatible dimmers in what can be a confusing labyrinth of options.
As we moved with the basement spaces it struck me exactly how perfectly whatever worked . As somebody that’s been surrounded by house automation for practically 20 years now it’s unusual to see such a complex system managed so just – in this situation by an iPad. Tim told us their clients practically solely spec iOS for manage however they likewise offer Android apps where the client request it.
The majority of CF’s installations are Crestron, although they likewise install Control4. They make comprehensive utilize of Lutron lighting systems as well as well as their options come after years in the market discovering out what works, what’s dependable as well as what offers the very best function set.
In a extremely James Bond moment, Tim’s tap on the iPad triggered the semi-circular wall in the games space to swing round as well as expose the projector screen as well as games console (see the video below). In an example of Cornflake’s development the big heavy wall is moved utilizing the motor from a equine exercising machine!
The big cinema space next door is an outstanding area total with anamorphic projector as well as with the speakers hidden behind the screen. A quick action film demo had us wondering what we’d do when we had to go back as well as try as well as online with our own pale imitation.
The CF house can be hired for personal events as well as I might see exactly how a young boys night in right here would go down extremely well. The cinema is just about to go through a overall refit upgrading to an even much more powerful MacIntosh system which will undoubtedly make it even much more impressive.
CF’s roots are in the world of 2 channel Hi-Fi. While many of their existing clients have added new multi-channel AV systems in their houses numerous of them likewise look to keep an audiophile element to their installation. The living area next to the kitchen area features an £11,000 MacIntosh valve system and electrostatic speakers. A TV rises out of a hidden panel below as well as the projector screen drops down from above. A special illumination system similar to Philips Ambilight extends the colours out from the screen around the space to add to the immersive experience.
The devoted vinyl-powered listening space upstairs goes even further, employing walls of un-equal length in addition to customized calculated noise baffles on the rear wall and textile dampers hanging on the sides walls.
Although primarily a domestic installer, CF likewise provides a service for industrial clients and the residential or commercial property includes an example Boardroom system.
Finally a new space is being built to screen blind as well as curtain manage options. This has ended up being an essential part of customized installs and the Crestron units are by far their favored choice as they have the quietest motors as well as can sync with each other for some elegant rolling. Somfy is one more choice CF in shape as well as blinds can be connected to the HVAC systems so, for example, they can close immediately on a sunny day if the temperature is getting as well high.
The Tech
Cornflake’s viewpoint is about innovation as well as style working together to produce the very best individual experience possible. So while it’s certainly not about ‘the boxes’ we’re all house automation lovers right here as well as we like hearing about the tech.
Cornflake’s Operations Manager, John Fitzpatrick, showed us the business end of the installation as he explained that CF have moved from what was a Hi-Fi business to extremely much an IT business today. The manage space homes four full height racks, beautifully developed as well as carefully wired with not a cable television out of place. These units were full of the tech we’d each want in our own home, if money were no object.
As you’d expect, CF develop these works of art in their workshop before shipping them to the owners home. In extreme conditions (if gain access to is through a tight stairway situation for example) the strange rack is still developed on site.
CF specify their racks have their own air conditioning system. John recounts cases where they’ve taken over existing installations and regularly discover warm is the primary factor in un-reliability, frequently seeing systems from competitors working for 6 months up until summertime hots up, temperatures increase as well as things begin to autumn over.
CF work in the rarefied environment at the height of the market as well as their clients expect nothing less than 100% reliability. In a company where a Cornflake Concierge might have to fly to Geneva to spend 30 minutes repairing something, the business goes to fantastic lengths to guarantee the systems are as bullet-proof as possible.
Most elements in the racks can be rebooted remotely as well as even if it’s a truly awkward retro-fit cable television that needs to be run, CF will go the additional mile to gain the reliability of a hardwired Ethernet network point. CF only use Cisco switches as well as configuration different VLANs to separate out functions like video routing and VoIP.
In central London the men can routinely see 40 or much more 2.4GHz Wi-Fi gain access to points appear at a clients house. They solely utilize Ruckus hardware as well as relocation as much as possible onto 5GHz. The only other wireless innovation they’ll set up is the Zigbee aspect of Control4 as well as even powerline network adaptors don’t make the grade as they have shown as well unreliable in the past.
It’s testament to all we like about Sonos that their music system is employed here in this high-end setup. All CF fitted Sonos zones use difficult wired Ethernet as well as have their SonosNet wireless disabled with a software application hack so they don’t interfere with anything on the network. With up to 30% of Sonos sales now reported to be in the customized set up market it’s still a aggravation that these kind of hacks have to be employed (come on Sonos).
As you’d expect, CF utilize hardwired IP manage for the large majority of their systems. Sky is one of the final few boxes that still need stick-on IR emitters, in spite of having IP manage offered through their own mobile app. John really hopes to see an API made offered to customized installers in the future as well as he predicts a relocation to video on demand only boxes with regional difficult drive storage ending up being a thing of the past. possibly the next generation of sky box will bring us a few of these features, in addition to 4K support.
The rack homes the ubiquitous Kaleidescape server and uses the Kaleidescape online video store to provide films around the home.
Another fascinating system in the rack, as well as a new one to us, was the Autonomic media server that includes a multitude of chauffeurs including AMX, Control4, Crestron as well as Savant. Unlike Sonos, the Autonomic system enables as much as four different accounts for every streaming music service so if your household each have their own Napster / Spotify etc account then this might be the response you’ve been looking for.
The Company
With around 25 staff, Cornflake are a big as well as respected name in this world as well as its remove to see why. They currently have 45 online jobs in the works, ranging from around £6,000 to over £500,000
CF have made a considerable investment bringing the wise house to life as well as I’ve seen no much better advert for the wise house than this. A location where whatever has been believed out, developed as well as developed utilizing the culmination of numerous years hard-won experience and expertise.
If my numbers ever come up as well as I’m in the setting to be spec’ing a bespoke wise house on this level then I’d want passionate, expert people like I discovered at Cornflake to deal with it.
www.cornflake.co.uk
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