Urmet has supplied its IP video entry and access control solution to a £500m central London residential project on the north bank of the Thames. The development by St Edward (part of The Berkeley Group) at 190 Strand will feature 200 suites, apartments and penthouses around a landscaped square stretching down to the riverfront.
Urmet has supplied its IP video entry and access control solution to a £500m central London residential project on the north bank of the Thames. The development by St Edward (part of The Berkeley Group) at 190 Strand will feature 200 suites, apartments and penthouses around a landscaped square stretching down to the riverfront.
Engineering and construction company, NG Bailey, has used Urmet’s IPervoice open platform software for resident access, visitor announcement, system management by concierge staff and lift control interface. The site is within the City of Westminster and opposite the Royal Courts of Justice and in close proximity to cultural institutions such as the Royal Opera House, Trafalgar Square and Admiralty Arch.
A team from GRID Architects evaluated the visual impact of all components in the buildings and a combination of Urmet’s Elekta stainless steel and Elekta glass entry panels was chosen to match the exterior of the complex which has a filigree façade and curtain walling.
The Power over Ethernet (PoE) Elekta panels feature a 3.5” color display and allow visitors to record both audio and video messages. Residents gain access using key fobs to activate proximity readers which are an integral part of the entrance panels.
Urmet’s Wiegand proximity readers are also located on more than 50 doors that lead to communal areas in the property such as the private swimming pool, business center, spa, gym and cinema. The readers use the same LAN as the entrance panels so contributing to a seamless solution.
Within the residences, users communicate with their visitors and the concierge via Urmet’s recently launched MAX IP Android ─ powered touchscreen. The 7-inch unit functions as a tablet device based on the swipe and gesture conventions familiar to any user of a smartphone.
This new touchscreen builds on Urmet’s already sophisticated lift control interface and includes a lift icon that can either call the lift to the resident’s floor or send it to ground level to receive a guest or delivery person. The lift occupant can then only travel to the floor for which they have permission and they are prevented from visiting other levels. Throughout the project, Urmet has worked to the requirements of Secured by Design (the official UK police flagship supporting the principles of ‘designing out crime’) which mandates intelligent lift management of this kind.
The MAX IP touchscreen endorses Urmet’s commitment to open platforms, and at 190 Strand it has been delivered pre‐loaded with the developer’s chosen control Apps for home automation. This versatility contributed to the architect’s goal of reducing multiple control panels by minimizing the number of devices in the living areas and hallways.