A start-of-the-art IP door entry system from market-leading supplier, Comelit UK, has been installed at a residential apartment block within the O2 Arena Development. Consisting of 164 apartments, the project is part of a £121m regeneration programme on London’s Greenwich Peninsula, which also includes a five-star hotel.
Working with our National Fire and Security Installation and Maintenance partner Liverpool-based Fire & Security installers, HESIS, Comelit’s Smart IP monitors were specified for use in the apartments, giving residents hands-free video and audio communication with visitors at ground level. The monitors feature intercom speaker units and a 3.5-inch LCD display showing images produced by a mini-lens colour camera integrated into Comelit’s Ikall metal entrance panel on the building exterior. The units can be flush, surface or desk-mounted.
The new O2 apartments have a 24-hour concierge service that enables residents to communicate with staff using their Smart monitors. Comelit has also supplied its multifunctional desk-mounted audio/video porter switchboard that allows the concierge to view visitors on a 3.5-inch colour screen and see the name or apartment number of the user being called from the entrance panel.
Optimising resident safety
The system at the O2 Arena development, which is connected over a shared Cat5e network, operates using the company’s feature-rich ViP management software with the porter switchboard functions controlled from software on a USB micro-key. This allows the receiving and forwarding of audio/video calls and manages communication with residents, including generating alarms if there is a fault with any of the panels or monitors. A recording archive stores all calls (made, managed, lost or forwarded) from the entry panel and the internal monitors.
Dan Wood, Southern Regional Manager, Comelit UK, said: “We have maximised security for residents with our IP system, at the same time empowering concierge staff to easily communicate with residents throughout the building. The sleek design of our Smart monitors is in keeping with the aesthetics of the building and the apartments, which all have luxury designer interiors.”
The O2 Arena Development is on a 7.6-acre site and in addition to the apartments and five-star hotel, there will also be extensive conference and event facilities. The property is managed by Grove Developments, with civil engineering company Balfour Beatty responsible for the overall project.
The whole Greenwich Peninsula project has focused on sustainability and operates to the BREEAM environmental best practice standard. Lorry movements are minimised, off-site building techniques have been employed and there is extensive use of solar panels. A wider scheme to regenerate the area will see the construction of 10,000 new homes, with land being reclaimed from soil that was previously polluted.
