MCBEE builds Crestron amenity control at DLF’s The Camellias

What happened

Indian integrator MCBEE has installed a Crestron-based control infrastructure for the communal amenities at DLF’s The Camellias, bringing several building and entertainment systems under coordinated management. Working with developer DLF, the company integrated AV, lighting, HVAC and security across venues including restaurants, bars and a combined cinema and performance space, rather than extending one system into every apartment.

The installation centres on Crestron’s CP3 processor, with server-based management covering the clubhouse, other shared buildings and external spaces. MCBEE developed more than 200 individual graphical interface screens to accommodate the different operating requirements. The approach gives staff and residents a consistent means of control across facilities with differing lighting, acoustic and occupancy conditions.

Lighting accounts for more than 2,000 centrally managed fixtures. DALI handles architectural lighting, while DMX provides changing effects in areas that require them; the equipment schedule includes Ultamation UC-DMX-200 controllers. Custom Crestron programming also incorporates shading, bringing it alongside AV and environmental systems rather than leaving each service dependent on separate controls.

Four rack PDUs supply the principal AV, automation and network equipment, with load monitoring supporting servicing. The specification lists APC AP7821B 1U units rated at 16A and 208/230V. For readers following networked power-management integration, this project provides a separate example of power supervision within a larger installation. Its network equipment includes a Cisco Meraki MS425-32 aggregation switch.

The background

The Camellias comprises 429 homes in 16 towers on the New Delhi skyline, with leisure facilities organised around a 160,000 sq ft clubhouse. Sports provision and landscaped outdoor areas extend the amenity estate beyond that building. The development takes its name from the flowering plant and combines residential accommodation with facilities operated in a hospitality setting.

The project is described as one of India’s earliest residential developments to achieve LEED Platinum certification. Occupancy detection and scheduling form part of MCBEE’s operational response: systems reduce activity in unoccupied areas, while lighting, music and HVAC presets respond to each venue’s function and the time of day. No measured energy savings are provided.

The apartments were supplied as bare shells, leaving owners to determine their layouts and technology requirements. Around 40 homes subsequently received individual installations. Those projects did not constitute a standard package for all residences: interfaces, keypad finishes and loudspeaker choices varied between homes, and the apartments do not depend on a central content service.

Generous terraces and privacy distinguish the residential accommodation, while the clubhouse provides opportunities for residents to meet without making social activity obligatory. This division also shaped the technical brief. MCBEE was required to keep communal infrastructure apart from domestic systems, so changes within a home would not disrupt the operation of shared facilities.

Audio distribution across different venues

Crestron DM NAX provides networked audio distribution, allowing operators to allocate playlists and other material to individual zones and change those assignments when a space takes on a different function. The restaurant uses K-array loudspeakers to combine architectural integration with coverage and reinforcement suited to its role as a communal dining and social venue.

The wider K-array schedule includes Anakonda, Kayman, Python, Vyper, Tornado, Domino and Turtle products, alongside Capture KMC 20H and Rumble, Thunder and KI subwoofers. Elsewhere, Bose Professional FreeSpace ceiling loudspeakers provide background audio and speech reproduction, with MB210 compact subwoofers supporting smaller reinforcement systems. DS and OmniPendant loudspeakers and FS3 II subwoofers also appear in the specification.

Bose PowerMatch models PM4250, PM4500, PM8250 and PM8500 supply amplification for ceiling-speaker and subwoofer zones. Four Powersoft Quattrocanali 1204 DSP+DANTE units provide an additional network-connected amplification layer. Crestron DSP-1281 and DSP-1282 processors add Dante, USB audio, acoustic echo cancellation and conferencing capabilities to the listed audio infrastructure.

Outdoor provision includes Rockacustics Periscape 6 weatherproof, two-way speakers with six-inch drivers. For wireless microphones, the schedule specifies Sennheiser’s EW 500-G4945 handheld system, A 2003-UHF directional antenna, ASA 1 antenna splitter and GZL 9000 A10 low-loss RF cable. Together, these selections address background playback, external coverage and microphone use rather than treating every venue as an identical audio zone.

Video transport and cinema equipment

The video network uses Crestron DM NVX to route 16 sources to 55 displays over IP. The project account describes low-latency distribution without a conventional matrix-switching topology. Separate from Crestron Home’s native Multiview developments, the specified installation here uses DM NVX for distribution. Samsung DC- and QB-series commercial displays range from 43 to 98 inches.

AVPro Edge AC-EX100-UHD-R3 receivers provide HDBaseT extension over structured cabling, carrying 4K video alongside audio, control and network connectivity. The listed receivers support 100m runs, RS-232, infrared and Ethernet. Cabling includes Kordz ONE-CAT6a, ONE-SP12 and ONE-SP14 speaker cable, PRO CAT8 patch cords, slim network leads and PRS HDMI connections for 4K UHD signals.

Projection centres on a Christie 28,000-lumen 4K laser system; the equipment schedule identifies the CP4330-RGB high-frame-rate RGB laser projector. Christie’s Pandoras Box R4 media server and players support the visual infrastructure. For cinema playback, the installation also lists a Kaleidescape Strato 4K HDR movie player and a madVR Envy processor for dynamic tone mapping.

Immersive audio processing and room optimisation use a Trinnov Altitude32, specified as the Altitude32-1632 32-channel preamplifier. The wider computing and interface inventory includes Apple Mac mini platforms, 256GB Wi-Fi iPad Air tablets and Apple TV 4K units. Crestron TSW-1060 touchscreens sit alongside Cameo, architectural and C2N-LCDB3 LCD keypads in the control specification.

What people are saying

MCBEE founder Sawan Nichani credits architecture practice Rockwell Group with the design of the shared spaces. He describes a brief in which each venue required its own visual identity and technical performance, including a tailored sound design. That position explains why the integration uses a common control framework without imposing the same audio arrangement throughout.

Nichani identifies efficient lighting, HVAC integration and automation as the principal sustainability measures within MCBEE’s scope. His stated aim was to limit avoidable consumption without making the technology intrusive for occupants. The emphasis is on how systems operate during daily use, rather than on a reported numerical reduction in energy demand.

He also clarifies that MCBEE’s five atmosphere categories apply exclusively to the clubhouse. They range from quiet settings to more active social environments, with occupancy feedback and timed programming adjusting music, lighting and temperature. The scheme did not prescribe how residents should configure their homes, where owners retained control over their individual designs.

What happens next

The project account gives no date for a further installation phase or system-wide upgrade. It does, however, describe the CP3-based amenity architecture as supporting changes as spaces evolve. Zone-specific programming and adjustable audio assignments provide the stated basis for accommodating different uses within the shared estate without making the apartment systems part of that process.

Nichani says the communal installation runs on an isolated backbone, separate from private residences. That boundary is intended to preserve independent operation as homeowners modify or replace their own equipment. The account presents separation as both a privacy measure and an operational requirement, rather than simply a distinction between residential and commercial user interfaces.

For ongoing access to the bespoke home systems, Nichani says MCBEE gives clients control over remote connections. Each installation includes a kill switch that lets the homeowner immediately withdraw external access. He describes this as standard practice across the company’s projects, establishing a client-controlled limit on remote access after the original installation.

Why this matters

For integrators, The Camellias illustrates the distinction between coordinating a large amenity estate and standardising private homes. MCBEE combined shared control of lighting, audio, video and environmental systems with an explicit boundary around residential installations. That arrangement allows venue-specific programming across the clubhouse while preserving homeowners’ choices over equipment, interfaces and remote access. For clients, the relevant feature is not a single estate-wide interface, but independent domestic systems alongside centrally operated communal facilities.