Fort Lauderdale Waterfront Residence

A waterfront residence rebuilt from the studs, with technology designed to disappear

The clients had lived in this Fort Lauderdale waterfront condominium for twenty years. When they decided to gut the entire 3,600-square-foot residence and rebuild it from scratch, they came to the table with one clear requirement for the technology. Integrate everything that could be integrated, and make it simple enough that neither of them would ever need to call for help. Reliability was the condition on which they agreed to move forward. Every decision after that point was an effort to honor it.

We were not the design team's first choice. The architecture and interior design firm running the project had existing relationships with other integrators. The clients visited our Hollywood showroom anyway, watched a Crestron system run the way we program it to run, and heard directly from an interior designer we have worked with for over twelve years. That conversation gave them the confidence to choose us. The work that followed had to prove the choice was the right one.

Technology design and implementation

With the residence stripped to bare walls, we designed the full technology infrastructure from the ground up. The network came first. We pulled all structured cabling ourselves and built the active layer on a Cisco backbone, a dual-WAN business-class router with VPN, a 50-port gigabit PoE smart switch, and a 10-port PoE+ managed switch for secondary distribution. Three Ruckus access points cover the full floor plate and both terraces, validated against a wireless heat map. The network was architected with dedicated VLAN segmentation from day one. Crestron control traffic, NVX audio/video distribution, and guest access each operate in complete isolation. Built the way a commercial installation is built, because the reliability brief required it.

Every subsystem in the residence answers to a single Crestron backbone. Systems integration across nineteen zones covers AV, distributed audio, surround sound, motorized shading, motorized drapery, architectural lighting, climate, security, and surveillance. The user interface was built around how the clients actually live. Crestron Horizon HZ-KPCN keypads with clearly labeled scene-based controls sit in every room, alongside 10.1-inch TSW-1070R touchscreens in the primary zones. The clients also use Crestron HR-310 handheld remotes and TSR-310 handhelds with 3-inch color touch screens and voice control in the main living areas and master bedroom. One press sets the lights, shading, and temperature for the moment.

Our team handled the full lighting design and controls for the residence. A Crestron CAEN automation panel in the laundry room runs the entire home. Eight CLX-2DIMU8 universal dimmer modules support LED, incandescent, and magnetic low-voltage loads, and a CLX-4HSW4 high-inrush switch module covers non-dimmable circuits. Every lighting circuit terminates at this panel. Scenes are programmed at the panel level for speed and consistency. The master bathroom adds a Crestron GLS-OIR ceiling occupancy sensor, so the lights respond to presence with separate adaptive presets for day and night. Throughout the home, the dimmer modules sit in the equipment closet and clean low-voltage Horizon keypads sit on the walls. That centralized approach is what gave the design team the architectural clarity they wanted, no banks of dimmer plates anywhere in the home, just a single elegant keypad in each space.

In the living room, an 85-inch Samsung 8K display anchors the space. Audio is a Denon 7.2 receiver with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X driving a full Sonance system, four architectural in-ceiling speakers, an 85" Sonance soundbar sized to match the display, and a pair of dual-voice-coil bandpass subwoofers installed above the drywall ceiling assembly prior to finish. The subwoofers are completely concealed. There are no visible enclosures or grilles in the room. Crestron motorized roller shades drop from recessed pockets in the ceiling, U-channels recessed into walls and floors so no hardware is visible when shades are retracted. Detail by detail, the technology disappears into the architecture.

The kitchen and office received Samsung "The Frame" displays. In rooms where the clients spend most of their day, a switched-off screen on the wall is an aesthetic intrusion. The Frame removes it, presenting curated artwork when the display is off and mounting flush to the wall with no visible gap. Both Frame displays are integrated into Crestron control and switch between art mode and active video as part of the relevant scenes. Sonance in-ceiling speakers fill the kitchen with even, warm sound that does not compete with conversation, paired with a dual-voice-coil bandpass subwoofer concealed above the ceiling. A second Frame display is recessed flush into the office wall.

The master bedroom was designed as a sanctuary, and the technology had to behave that way. A Crestron motorized roller shade pair handles the windows, and a separate Crestron motorized drapery track runs on the same control circuit, all from the same wall keypad or bedside TSR-310 handheld remote. The clients never have to leave the bed to adjust the room. Climate is controlled through a Crestron CHV-TSTATW thermostat that ties directly into the broader system, allowing wake-up and sleep scenes to coordinate temperature, lighting, and shading together. Both guest bedrooms and the office follow the same pattern, dedicated motorized shades, drapery where called for, Sonance audio, and full Crestron lighting and scene control.

The waterfront position of the building introduced specific technical requirements. All outdoor AV equipment on the terraces was specified for marine-grade salt air exposure and UV resistance. The dining terrace was wired to receive the living room display signal via Crestron NVX video distribution and drive the terrace speakers independently, so audio and video can follow the clients outside without affecting interior zones. The Ruckus access points were positioned to cover both terraces and the interior with full strength.

Throughout the home, distributed audio runs on a Crestron Sonnex SWAMP-24X8 multiroom audio system with a SWAMPE-4 four-zone expander, driven by a Sonance DSP 8-130 MKII amplifier at 145 watts per channel. Two Sonos Ports feed the system with AirPlay 2 streaming. Sonance Discreet Opening System speakers are used throughout, installed prior to drywall and completely concealed after finish in most locations. When the shades are up and the screens are off, there is no visible technology in the room.

Security, networking, and the equipment room

The residence is protected by a full security and video surveillance system built on Axis M3016 recessed IP cameras at 2016x1512 resolution, covering the lobby, foyer, kitchen, and additional zones. Every camera, lock, and sensor lives on the same Crestron interface as the lights and shades, so the clients have a single way to see and control the residence rather than a separate app for each system.

The equipment room itself was built to CEDIA standards in a Middle Atlantic ERK-4025 forty-space rack. Power management is handled by an APC J15BLK 1500VA AV power conditioner with battery backup and a WattBox IP twelve-outlet power conditioner with auto-reboot, so if any device loses communication the system can recover without a technician visit. The cabinet built to house the rack arrived undersized, a result of disruption in the design team's workflow after the lead architect passed away mid-project. Rather than delay, we adapted on site. The rack was repositioned laterally within the smaller enclosure, ventilation was recalculated, and additional cooling was added to maintain thermal tolerances for all equipment. The final installation meets our full rack-building standard, every position planned, every cable labeled, every device on a documented IP address.

The result

For the design team, the measure of success was a home where the technology never competes with the architecture. For the clients, it was a home that responds without effort. Both things happened. Across nineteen zones and both terraces, the clients operate their rebuilt residence from keypads and touchscreens that require no prior knowledge, no manual, and no calls to us for routine use. That was the brief. That is what was delivered.

If you are an architect, interior designer, or builder working on a project in South Florida, the best work happens when we are involved at the start of the design process. Browse other projects or learn more about our design partners program.