A dedicated cinema space in a family’s dream home in South Africa earned
BNC Technology the award for Best Media Room Level I at the 2019 CEDIA Awards.
The luxurious room, which was intended for the client’s whole family to use and enjoy, was inspired by a geometric panel design.
One of the key challenges was the location of the room, which was in a basement, but very close to the water table underneath the property.
A concealed pump was put in place to drain excess water should the level rise above normal, but, for extra piece of mind, BNC Technology installed sensors which would send a notification to the client’s smartphone should the water level become unusually high and shut off the power to selected components.
Due to budgetary constraints, the home cinema could not be reference level — performance criteria of 99dB was established and taken into consideration when specifying the amplifiers to run the audio system.
With a speaker sensitivity of 89dB, the setup would require 180W of power per channel to achieve the desired performance.
Other factors taken into consideration included the specified speakers’ power handling abilities — with peak power handling of 300W, the model of amplifiers’ BNC Technology selected had a rating of 200W per channel. This allowed the system to be effortlessly powered, with 10% headroom in the power amplifiers’ output ability.
Coral Road was the first project in which BNC Technology had to implement a dedicated EQ unit as a permanent part of the setup. This added to the technical complexity of planning the cinema but ensured that perfect sound was delivered.
The home cinema room was designed to look minimalist and contemporary — all the walls were upholstered in acoustically transparent fabric, meaning the audio technology could be hidden away, without its performance being compromised.
A 145-inch acoustically transparent screen was installed, which concealed the left, right, and center channel speakers, as well as a motorised lift to hide the projector when not in use.
With the house being made of concrete, sound isolation was an important consideration — BNC Technology chose a double-door cinema room entry solution. A window on the outside of the house was covered with acoustic panelling on the inside and a dark tint on the exterior.
Wood finishes and a bespoke sofa, with soft cushions and fine fabric throws, help to create a warm, inviting atmosphere and add a touch of luxury.
On the first night that the client and his family used the cinema room, it was turned into a venue for a sleepover — very apt for a dream home!
BNC Technology
16 Skeen Boulevard
Bedfordview
Johannesburg, 20070
Gauteng, South Africa
11.023.7662
bnctechnology.co.za
CEDIA Member Since 2011
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