Comelit’s IP video entry system has been installed at a high-end, large-scale residential development in London.
The Riverlight complex in Nine Elms consists of over 800 apartments spread across six blocks ranging from 12 to 20 storeys on the south bank of the Thames in the borough of Wandsworth.
The project, which started several years ago, is due to be completed by 2017 and has already involved several installation companies.
Visitors to Riverlight call individual apartments using Comelit’s Ikall entrance panels, which are located at 48 access points around the five-acre site, allowing audio-video communication with visitors via a built-in colour camera and a two-way speaker unit.
Built on a modular basis, the Ikall entrance panel can feature options such as numerical pushbuttons, digital name directory and proximity RF readers as part of a bespoke configuration to suit the exact needs of the installers and demands made by layout. The flexible design of Comelit’s IP panel range has already produced savings for property developer St. James (part of the Berkeley Group) by avoiding the use of non-essential components. Adaptability offered by using IP will also prolong the life of the system and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) by allowing simple ongoing upgrades to meet the evolving needs of the site.
Access control, communication with reception staff and interface with third-party home automation systems at Riverlight are managed by Comelit's ViP software. ViP gives building managers multi-channel communications that can be integrated with any existing 10/100 MB network using the existing cable infrastructure and open-source SIP protocol. ViP also allows an unlimited number of entrance panels to be added to the system, making it completely future-proof and scalable.
Inside some of the apartments at Riverlight, residents can interact with visitors and grant access using touchscreen monitors from third-party home automation equipment manufacturer, Crestron. As a future upgrade option, residents may also benefit from Comelit’s multi-user gateway that allows calls from Ikall entrance panels to be diverted to residents’ smartphones, tablets or PC, with no need for additional cabling.
Dan Wood, Southern Regional Manager, Comelit UK, said: “This is a long-term flagship project for Comelit that has involved different installers during each build phase. The intuitive nature of our ViP management software has allowed each installer simply to pick up the product and run with it. As an IP solution, integrators have been able to conduct a large amount of configuration and testing off-site, thereby minimising disruption for residents and passing on cost benefits to the client.”
The Riverlight scheme includes underground parking, restaurants, bars, a river walk and retail outlets. Development of other amenities is ongoing and sixty per cent of the site will be designated as public open space. Construction costs are approximately £200 million, with structural engineer Ramboll working alongside architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. Riverlight is within sight of Embassy Gardens in Battersea, another Comelit project where 639 apartments have been fitted with access control at a site that will include the new US embassy.