SoHo Apartment Built for Sports, Style, and Circadian Living

Project Overview

This 2,125-square-foot apartment in a five-story SoHo building was redesigned into a fully integrated smart home centered on three intertwined priorities: elite sports viewing, human-centric (circadian) lighting, and quiet, architectural automation.

Because this is not the client’s primary residence, a core requirement was simplicity and re-entry usability: the system needed to feel obvious and intuitive even after months away. Delivered through coordinated scopes for AV/network, lighting and controls, and motorized shades, the apartment unifies Savant automation, Lutron HomeWorks QSX lighting and shading, Ketra tunable fixtures, and a high-performance Araknis network into a single, easy-to-navigate experience.

Client Profile & Goals

The client is a sports broadcaster. The apartment needed to support a lifestyle where media is central to both work and enjoyment, while also being extremely easy to operate for a part-time residence. Key goals included:

Watch multiple games at once, at a scale that feels like being in the arena.
Maintain wellness through daylight-mimicking, circadian lighting, despite limited natural light reach.
Entertain easily, with lighting, shades, and AV moving together in scenes.
Keep technology visually discreet, respecting architecture and the client’s strong fashion-forward aesthetic.
Make everything dead-simple to use, so arriving after time away feels familiar immediately.

Design Intent Highlights

Built for multi-game viewing

The living room was engineered around a 200" Cinemascope projection system and 8×8 video matrix, supported by Savant video tiling. This gives the client a true multi-game studio at home — configurable layouts, rapid source changes, and effortless switching between “sports mode” and “cinema mode.”

Circadian lighting + shading in tandem

Because the main living area has windows only at one end, Ketra tunable lighting was essential to creating a full-space daylight feel. Circadian scenes coordinate Ketra color temperature and intensity with dual-layer blackout shading, reinforcing healthy rhythms from morning to evening while also enabling dramatic entertaining presets.

Closet lighting designed for fashion

Rania linear lighting was installed in closets so the client can evaluate garments — especially suiting — under varying lighting conditions. This also continues multi-level circadian lighting into the primary suite.

Minimal fixture footprint

All lighting was specified as mud-in trimless fixtures with 3" apertures, minimizing ceiling visual noise.

Dual-layer shading that supports open windows

Every window received dual-layer motorized shades: blackout plus a privacy screen. The privacy layer runs in tracks, doubling as a bug screen so windows can remain open comfortably during warmer months. Shades integrate directly with AV and lighting scenes.

Key Solutions Delivered

Living Room — Dual-Display Theater + Multi-Game Tiling

This is the anchor space, tuned for a broadcaster’s viewing style and a part-time residence’s need for easy, repeatable control.

Projection & processing

Screen Innovations Solo 3 motorized 200" Cinemascope screen, in Slate 1.2 gain — bright enough to enjoy without fully blacking out the room
Epson QL700010,000-lumen projector, chosen to satisfy throw distance while delivering strong performance in partially lit conditions
madVR Envy Core video processor, selected because the client dislikes letterboxing and loved the non-linear stretch feature
Kaleidescape movie player for reference-quality, instant high-bitrate playback

Everyday viewing

100" TV over the fireplace for casual viewing when the projection screen isn’t deployed

Audio & bass

Origin Acoustics Director Collection D89 in-ceiling speakers for LCR and surrounds, selected for full-range response and aimability
Paradigm XR13 subwoofers to deliver high-impact bass for action films while using a Canadian brand with refined industrial design. Their build and isolation help minimize vibration transfer to the floor, reducing disturbance to downstairs neighbors.
Subwoofers are also enabled for music, giving full-range authority during entertaining.
Anthem theater processing/amplification anchors the Atmos environment — chosen for performance and as a subtle nod to the client’s Canadian roots.

Architectural coordination

The fireplace mantel was lowered so the 100" TV could mount at an appropriate viewing height and align centerline-to-centerline with the projector screen when both displays are in use.
The Solo 3 screen couldn’t fit stairs or elevator, so a boom crane lift through a window was executed to bring the screen into the apartment — coordinated with the building, GC, and install team.

The net effect: a living room that toggles between relaxed day-to-day viewing and a private multi-game sports theater in seconds — without complexity.

Primary Suite — Hidden Theater + Scene Control

The primary bedroom walls are predominantly closet space, so a conventional TV would have compromised function and calmness. Instead:

A discreet projector and motorized screen enable premium viewing while preserving storage.
Lutron Palladiom 9-button keypads were installed in the primary bedroom and main living area for elegant, tactile control of lighting, shades, and scenes.

A Samsung Frame TV in the primary bathroom ties into Savant video distribution for effortless viewing while getting ready.

Two-Channel Vinyl System — Private Ritual, Social Option

After completion, the client added:

McIntosh two-channel preamp + amplifier
Sonus Faber Electa Amator III speakers
Turntable source

Rooted in childhood memories of his father playing reggae records, this system is both personal and high-fidelity. We integrated it into Savant, so vinyl can remain a pure two-channel ritual — or be distributed to architectural speakers when entertaining.

Lighting & Controls — Ketra + HomeWorks QSX Retrofit

Ketra tunable fixtures provide daylight replication, circadian presets, and warm entertaining scenes.
Lutron HomeWorks QSX with Palladiom and Sunnata RF devices delivers reliable, minimal-profile control.
Because this was a retrofit, close coordination with the electrician was required to convert legacy wiring and switching to support smart fixtures, dimming, and scene control cleanly.

Network Backbone

A multi-gig Araknis network supports AV-over-IP, Kaleidescape bitrate demands, and responsive Savant control. To maximize performance and reliability, all video-over-IP distribution was run over fiber optic wiring, ensuring best-possible audio/video quality and long-term stability.

Surveillance — Discreet Security Integration

IC Realtime mini vandal dome cameras were installed in smart flush wall mount kits, delivering security coverage while keeping appearance subtle and aligned with finishes.

Construction & Trade Coordination

This project required unusually tight sequencing and alignment across nearly every trade. Recessed shade pockets, trimless apertures, speaker layouts, wiring conversions, mantel height, and crane logistics all depended on synchronized field coordination.

That teamwork is what allowed the finished apartment to feel architecturally unified rather than “technology added later.”

Outcome

The apartment now supports three seamless modes of life:

A professional-grade sports viewing hub, with multi-game tiling at massive scale and instant layout control.
A wellness-driven living environment, where Ketra lighting and blackout shading reinforce circadian rhythm across a deep-plan space.
A refined architectural residence, where technology stays visually quiet while delivering top-tier performance.

And just as importantly, the system is simple enough to feel familiar after months away: intuitive controls, consistent scenes, and a unified Savant experience that lets the client step back in and immediately feel at home.