Gira smart technology adds intelligent comfort to The Edge

Gira, one of the world’s leading full-range suppliers of intelligent building solutions for commercial and residential properties, blend comfort, connectivity and style at The Edge House, a deluxe smart home near Krakow in Poland.

Just four kilometres from the city centre, a former quarry has been redeveloped in true contemporary style and is now home to The Edge House, a luxury property defined by its extreme architecture, angular slate roof and minimalist aesthetic.

With a quarry edge measuring 8 metres high, the extravagant plot location proved to be a major design challenge, which was amplified by the planning restrictions as pitched roofs are a legal requirement in this exclusive neighbourhood. However, the homeowners wanted an original and creative solution for the plot and so their search for the perfect design took two years.

Several architects were commissioned, but the design concepts never quite met the clients’ expectations. Architect Przemyslaw Olczak from the internationally acclaimed studio Mobius Architekci in Krakow, finally won their trust and was awarded the contract. His idea was to build the house on the quarry edge. He placed the building on the rugged cliff, adapting it to the contours of the slope with steeply inclined façades and using dark slate to offset it against the existing pale limestone.

The exquisite building is made truly extraordinary through the architect’s ingenuity with differences in height. Viewed from the south, The Edge House looks like a single-level home, whilst the cliff side to the north reveals three storey’s that appear to be integrated into the rocks. The homeowners wanted a wildflower meadow to be incorporated into the design. In order to prevent the house from overpowering the meadow-rich plot, Ofczak designed parts of the site to slope slightly downwards towards the south and west sides of the building. This reduced the height, whilst simultaneously creating a private living space and pool area out of sight. Several balconies and terraces ensure that the residents can enjoy the sunshine or the shade as much as they wish.

The understated architecture continues inside with 850 square metres of living space on three levels: a basement, ground floor and first floor. The entrance is at ground level and leads into a spacious kitchen and open plan living and dining area. To the right of the entrance, there is a media room and one bedroom with a guest bathroom. The upper level boasts two large bedrooms with bathrooms and dressing rooms, in addition to a work and office space.

Minimalist yet multifunctional: Gira Smart technology completes the concept. The Gira Esprit Design Line is the perfect complement for the elegant interiors and as the homeowners wanted extra comfort and sustainability, they chose a KNX system from Gira to install many complex functions. At the heart of this wired bus installation is the Gira HomeServer, which enables the household to control the building technology thanks to a range of different devices. By adding the extra power of the Gira FacilityServer to the Gira HomeServer, the KNX system at Edge House links everything together: from door communication, the security/alarm system, blinds, electrically-operated windows and doors to the audio system, lighting, heating and climate control technology.

Wherever they are, the residents can enjoy all the benefits of mobile smart home control on the go via the Gira interface on the Gira HomeServer app. At home, they can call up defined functions and individual scenes in any room using the Gira pushbutton sensors. With dimmed lighting and the blinds down, the living area can be transformed into a home cinema. The KNX installation in the Edge House not only offers an incredible range of functions and enormous flexibility, but it can also evolve in the future – because an electrical engineer can reprogram the system to add new functions at any time, without any complex building work or additional cables.

Gira Esprit Design Line – brimming with personality this socket and switch series comes in 15 different options to bring a design accent to your home. You can mix and match with frames in on-trend metallics, sustainably sourced Linoleum-Plywood and luxe glass. Offering functional and fashionable elements, Gira Esprit is available in bronze, aluminium, aluminium light gold, aluminium brown, aluminium black, chrome, stainless steel, anthracite, dark brown, light brown, glass mint, glass umber, glass white, glass black and light grey. It works seamlessly with the Gira System 55, which offers over 300 functions to assist intuitive smart home living.

Gira Pushbutton Sensor 3 – bringing together multiple functions at the touch of a button, you can control lighting and blind, adjust the temperature or store and call up complete scenes of light, blinds and music. This versatile room controller will maximise the benefits of smart living and can be easily customised to your needs.

Photos: Pawel Ulatowski