About the project
Prestigious mansion with full integration of all smart systems. Features include two home theaters, 12-zone audio, automated pool controls, and extensive outdoor lighting.
The Challenge
Owner brief: a 22,000 sqft Emirates Hills mansion with two independent family wings, twin home cinemas and a resort-style pool complex. The developer's baseline lighting scheme could not scale to the interior designer's fixture count, the existing intercom was IP-only with no legacy analogue backup, and the client's brief required a UX simple enough for aged parents visiting from the GCC and safe enough for young children living day-to-day. The property is also positioned for hosting — up to 60 guests for state occasions — so every system had to switch cleanly between family-mode and event-mode without a technician on site.
Our Solution
LEXA designed a Control4 EA-5 primary + hot-standby EA-3 architecture running OS 4, sitting on a dedicated wired Ubiquiti UniFi backbone with four PoE switches and full VLAN separation between AV, control, security and guest WiFi. Lighting is a full Lutron HomeWorks QSX deployment with 190+ dimming zones, Palladiom keypads throughout entertaining areas and Vareo in back-of-house rooms. The two home cinemas are calibrated JVC NZ8 laser projectors on JBL Synthesis speaker systems with dedicated Kaleidescape sources. Audio zoning is 12 independent Sonos Amp + Sonance in-ceiling zones plus outdoor Sonance Landscape speakers around the pool. Security combines a hardened access-control ecosystem with private-vault camera storage on the estate's own NAS, no cloud. Every family-mode / event-mode scene was co-designed with the household manager during a 3-day scenario workshop before commissioning.
The Outcome
Handover was a family-run open house — the household manager operated all systems from a single iPad without a LEXA engineer present. Six months post-handover the property was used to host a bilateral cultural event for a visiting delegation; every scene, catering trigger and press-room AV cue was pre-programmed and executed without incident. Monthly remote-monitoring reports show 99.94% uptime on control and 100% on lighting. The Palladiom keypads have handled 2.1 million press events across all rooms without a single failure.
The system disappears — which is exactly what I asked for. Guests never see the technology, my parents can use it without being told, and our household manager knows every scene by name. LEXA delivered on the brief.
The comprehensive smart home ecosystem integrates home theater, lighting, security, climate and 2 more systems, all working in perfect harmony to create an intuitive and luxurious environment. Visualize in 3D or explore our villa designer.
Project Gallery
Systems Implemented
Technical Specifications
- Control4 EA-5 primary + EA-3 hot-standby, OS 4
- Lutron HomeWorks QSX, 190+ zones, Palladiom + Vareo keypads
- Ubiquiti UniFi wired backbone, 4 PoE switches, 4 VLANs
- 12 Sonos Amp + Sonance in-ceiling & landscape audio zones
- Twin JVC NZ8 cinemas with JBL Synthesis + Kaleidescape sources
- Private on-estate NAS security recording, no cloud
Products Installed
EA-5 Controller
Control4 · Automation
Homeworks QS
Lutron · Lighting
Results & Impact
- ✓190+ Lutron dimming zones, zero commissioning callbacks in Y1
- ✓99.94% control uptime measured over the first 12 months
- ✓2 fully calibrated cinemas — both handed over ISF-verified
- ✓0 truck-rolls needed post-handover thanks to 4Sight remote support
Project Info
Timeline
9 months from tender award to handover; 14 weeks of active on-site work, coordinated with the interior designer's finishes schedule so no keypad plate was cut for a wall it didn't end up sitting on.
Project Team
9 LEXA engineers on the delivery team: 1 senior project engineer, 2 Control4 programmers, 2 Lutron commissioning engineers, 2 AV / cinema calibrators, 1 network engineer, 1 QA & handover lead.
Client
Private Client, Emirates Hills
Category
Villa
Location
Emirates Hills, Dubai
Completed
2023
Premium Brands
Control4
Automation
Lutron
Lighting
Sonos
Audio
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