All the spaces of this house are equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Technological integration was a fundamental factor, because its inhabitants are digital.
By Richard Santa
In Colombia, in recent years there has been a considerable increase in high-cost housing projects in different cities of the country, including houses and apartments with exclusive and personalized designs, both within the cities and in the nearby countryside.
These projects have become a great growth opportunity for companies that carry out residential integration. More and more people want to have technology that gives them comfort, security and makes their lives easier.
On the outskirts of Medellin, Colombia, a house was recently built that has stood out for having an exclusive design and the latest in audiovisual technology. Aníbal Cardona, commercial manager of the firm High Class Technology, in charge of doing all the home automation, spoke with AVI LATINOAMÉRICA about the particularities of the house.
The owner of the house is the Colombian singer and composer Pipe Peláez, who in addition to his work is a great fan of technology. Therefore, the house had to have all the elements that met their high expectations.
To meet all the client's requirements, the coordinated work of several companies was needed. Bássico Arquitectos and MV Arquitectos were the firms in charge of the design of the house, which was built by HyA Ingenieros. In addition, High Class Technology did lighting design and integration home automation and A/D Furnishing Design, into interior design.
Digital inhabitants
In order to have control over a house of 775 square meters surrounded by large green areas, and meet all the professional and personal expectations of the client, it was necessary to think about each space in particular but integrated. To achieve this, the latest technology was used.
For the entertainment of the family, two solutions were installed. The first is audio distributed in different spaces. The second is a very well achieved, fully integrated cinema room, which has high quality audio and video systems and sound isolation so that the interior sound does not interfere with those outside the room.
Comfort and safety are also included in the technology of the house. It has a complete security system with alarms and cameras, integrated heating and curtain system, intercommunication between the main room and the common areas.
The most important thing, said Aníbal Cardona, is that all the technology, supported on the Crestron automation system, is easy to handle, so that anyone can use and enjoy it, either from the control panels or from the mobile devices of its owners.
And in order to help in the professional activities of its owner, the house is equipped with a complete recording studio, which was designed from the design so that those who visit it do not have to enter the interior of the house, operating independently.
Lighting designer
Lighting designer is a new concept that High Class Technology is promoting in Colombia, through which lighting professionals are responsible for designing systems that, in addition to fulfilling their main function, also generate environments, highlight details, have a decorative function and help with energy saving. All these concepts were applied in the house of Pipe Peláez.
According to the commercial manager of High Class Technology, lighting has become a very important element of architecture. In this case it stands out for being sustainable, with clean skies and beautifying the architecture. It is implemented with an automatic on/off system that is programmed by the users of the house.
Featured architecture
In addition to technology, this house stands out for its design. The firms Bássico Arquitectos and MV Arquitectos took advantage of the ground conditions to adapt the design of the house and used materials and colors that match the landscape of the area.
Being the home for a person with public recognition, one of the challenges for the designers was to make the space provide privacy, without losing the beautiful view of the landscape that surrounds it.
Gabriel Martínez, who led the project in the firm Bássico Arquitectos, stressed that "the house proposes a main volume of two levels oriented to the southeast, where the main spaces of the house coexist with the near and far environment. It is a totally open and exposed volume on one of its sides allowing a direct relationship with the outside; and mostly closed in the facades that coexist with the access, to protect the privacy of the space".
He added that "another body of a single level is born from the mountain and at the intersection with the main volume generates two courtyards, an access, a transition between the public and the domestic of the project. The first courtyard is configured for vehicular access. The visitor is greeted by an architecture that he must cross to meet the second void that guides him to the access gate or to the recording studio and workspace."
A third internal-external patio is the element that welcomes the access of the house, and separates the social area from the private one inside. An outstanding part of the design is the swimming pool, which, as a balcony extended over the topography, offers a different experience with the environment and its visuals.
