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Killer Luxe - Project Case Study 001

For our latest killer app project, we started with an A-list Hollywood client who wanted to build an outdoor cinema ... on his tennis court! Working with Justin Lesky of The Digital Home Connection (Santa Monica, CA), what seemed pretty straight-forward at first became a major engineering effort.

Let's start with the 40' x 6' x 8' trench that had to be dug to sink the projection screen and lift mechanism that rises 30' out of the ground. Then we designed a replica of the Tuscan-style main house to hold the projector, complete with its own air-conditioned ventilation. We acoustically treated the existing structure of the tennis court to reduce echo pinging off the walls, and to keep the sound from leaking into the swank neighborhood. 

This extraordinary space also includes a 7.1 channel sound system with three Meyer Sound outdoor-rated concert speakers, five giant subwoofers to generate 110 dB of clean bass SPL (sound pressure level), and 24 surround speakers for smooth envelopment of the center court listening area. A 35' wide perforated projection screen by Stewart Filmscreen, and a 20,000 lumens / 4k Sony digital cinema projector provide the stunningly sharp and bright picture. Now that's entertainment!

Read on for a photographic review of the build so far ...

Here's the outdoor space we started out with - tennis court flanked by two hard walls, a chain link fence, and stairway leading up to the main house. Bisected corners add 4 more sound echo bounce points.


Constructions begins ...


Digging a 40' trench to house the 35' projection screen and lift mechanism that rises 30 feet out of the ground.


We designed a mini replica of the Tuscan-style main residence to house the powerful 4k digital projector and audio equipment.


The projector house required its own ventilation and air-conditioning system to keep the equipment consistently cooled.

Ventilation silencer and subwoofer ready for installation. To control air handling noise in the projection room, we installed a silencer.

Finishing the projector house ...


Inside the projector house ...
Lift mechanism being installed inside the 30' underground trench - you can see the trap doors to the left.

"Hey, you talkin' to me?" The six foot rattler was not part of the construction crew and had to be escorted off the property!
 

Surround speakers and sound-absorbing walls installed ...

More to come as we put the finishing touches on this extraordinary project - come back soon to check on our progress!



END OF PART 1 ... MORE TO COME!





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