KNEKTD took on a whole building project for a château located in Geneva which included a high-performance cinema.
Shaun Wilson, Director at KNEKTD, explains this chateau-based project came from an existing client who owns a house in London, which the company worked on in 2018. The customer was very happy with the result, so was happy to use KNEKTD for his property in Geneva.
Shaun explains, “It has been a long process; upgrading a château takes a long time! The cinema was part of the wider installation, which was a full house refurbishment. We installed a Control4 control system across the property, which included multiroom audio and video, Wi-Fi and network throughout, as well as CCTV and access control.”
Shaun adds some more detail, “We were given the space within the basement, which we knew was going to be for the cinema, but this came with its challenges, one of them being the curved ceiling. There were many versions of the cinema during the planning process. With the client already owning a Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Series cinema we had installed in his house in London in 2018, naturally, we wanted to better that! There were also, of course, the challenges of choosing what products to use and staying within the budget we had for the space. However, we ended up with a very well-thought-out process from design to conception and had a strong plan to move forward with.”
Shaun says, “We worked closely and collaborated with CinemaTech for the design of the room, which had many revisions, but they were amazing throughout and managed the client really well. In the end, we had three different renders based on a faceted ceiling design to deal with the curved ceiling. Special thanks here to the team at Louise Tarling, who fitted the fabric and acoustic treatments as well as creating the amazing, faceted ceiling.”
Once the design was finalised, the team planned out the installation in phases. Phase one involved rack build and commissioning, which was done in the integrator’s workshop in Richmond-upon-Thames, London. Phase two saw the installation and delivery of equipment and the racks. This included installing the racks in situ, ready for the cinema equipment to be connected, bringing the cinema to life properly.
Phase three involved the installation of room treatment and the installation of the equipment.
Shaun says, “We had to build a room within a room. This included building a structure within the space to mount the track and install the room treatment, followed by speakers, ready for the rattle test before covering the room in fabric.
Next, during phase four, the final commissioning took place once the whole room had been installed and covered in fabric, which included a custom housing for the projector and connection to the wider control system. Once this was complete, final calibration, including video by Habitech and audio by Wisdom, could take place.
Phase five, handover to the customer!
Technical Challenges
A project like this is always going to throw in a few curveballs, as Shaun reveals, “The curved ceiling came with its challenges, but we were able to overcome them by installing a faceted ceiling, which delivered a practical and attractive solution. Being in Switzerland came with its own challenges, of course, from shipping the products to installation and logistical considerations around whether to fly or drive. “In fact, both options were needed during different phases of the project. Ultimately, the planning here was key. Choosing the correct products and the best combinations, which would work seamlessly together for the project, was a big consideration.”
Having a decent budget to work with gave the KNEKTD team an opportunity to push the boundaries of what could be installed within the space. Shaun says, “Everything within the room was designed to enhance the experience, from the tech products (Wisdom Speaker / StormAudio Processor / madVR Video Processor) to the physical installation (room treatment) we used in the installation. It ultimately made for the perfect cinema experience.
“Having worked on the project for several years, experiencing the cinema for the first time was definitely my highlight. We know what the products can do, and you can only hope it delivers, so hearing and seeing it all for the first time in person made it all worthwhile and very rewarding!”
Essential Kit List
- CinemaTech: Cinema design
- JVC NZ900 Projector
- Kaleidescape Strato V + 16TB Terra Prime Movie Server
- madVR Labs Envy Extreme Video Processor
- StormAudio ISP ELITE Surround Sound Processor
- Wisdom Sage Cinema Speakers: 3x Front: Sage Cinema Line 2, 6x Sides & Rears: Sage Cinema Point 2 V2 MTM, 4x In-Ceiling: Sage ICS7A, 4x Subwoofers: SCS RTL Passive.
- Wisdom Amplification
- Screen Research 140in CinemaScope Projector Screen
- Cinema Build Systems: Tracking and acoustic treatment
- Création Baumann: Room fabric
