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DREAM OF A HOUSE AS A MACHINE
A house as a machine – this idea has occupied me (Frank Völkel) since childhood. Back then, we lived in an old villa. The charm of the stylish building, the beautiful garden on a slope, the baroque figures on the façade – all this gave my imagination plenty of scope.
But how the wind whistled everywhere and in winter it was often bitterly cold! Whenever I watched my grandparents heating up the wood stove, I thought that it could be done automatically.
A house should be like a big machine that makes life as comfortable as possible for its inhabitants: warmth, light and protection, all regulated by itself!
I only got to know Le Corbusier’s term “living machine” years later and also came to understand that he used it more for an efficient use of space adapted to the individual functions. He certainly wasn’t thinking of intelligent home control.
My first new-build smart home in Munich was also my first private home
FRANK VÖLKEL
Pioneer
"Networked construction is not yet a matter of course today; 17 years ago, most people had never heard of it"
Frank Völkel
House adapts to residents
When I was planning my first home, it was important to me that the rooms were adaptable and could be used and converted according to the phase of life or family situation of the residents. And, of course, it should have a KNX-based home control system.
A high-quality ambience and a minimalist design were also important to me. The ultra-modern technology had to be completely invisible.
My house should remember who wants it warmer or cooler, who likes to listen to which music, which light scenes should be set automatically in the evening or when the heating should be turned down in which room!
Frank Völkel
Planned and programmed by myself
The thought from my early childhood days crossed my mind again. My house should, so to speak, add wood by itself, it should give me light when I get home and offer my family plenty of protection. The integration of ultra-modern building technology into the structure was therefore a priority right from the design stage.
I designed and planned my first smart home myself, which incidentally was the first smart home in the Munich area. Networked building is still not a matter of course today; 17 years ago, most people had never heard of it.So I designed, planned and programmed it all myself. The path to the goal was not easy.
I grew up with IT at an early age. When I was 13 years old, my father gave me my first computer, a Commodore 64. Together with two buddies, I sat up all night on this fascinating computer. Sometimes we didn’t get to bed at all before we went to school in the morning. We were only interested in playing games at the beginning. After a short time, we wanted to understand how the games were structured and program them ourselves.
Back then, I laid the foundations for my understanding of IT. Today, I benefit greatly from those secret nights with my buddies. The Commodore 64 is one of the few items that I won’t actually give away, even though I haven’t done anything with it for a long time.
The control of an entire room: At that time, I used the Berker B.IQ stainless steel KNX push-buttons with display, which I consider to be visually minimalist and technically well-equipped.
They were the only KNX push-buttons that I liked and that fitted into the cool, minimalist ambience!
As I couldn’t find an electrician at the time who was prepared to learn something new, I laid every single cable myself.
Because touchscreens were introduced in 2009 for the Gira Homeserver in the size I needed, I built my own: From displays for supermarket checkouts. I controlled the home server with the first Apple iPhone, which I took with me to its premiere in San Francisco (USA) in 2007 and later cracked for the German Telekom network because it was not yet available on the German market.
In 2010, I used the first Apple iPad for home control and was really impressed by the graphical visualization.
I summarized the experience I gained while building my first smart home in the book “Smart Home with KNX”. Since 2009, this book has helped many builders and electricians to implement a future-proof building with KNX.
Novelty: Technology shaft
The load-bearing core is visible behind the kitchen. Behind it is the technology shaft. Just as all organs receive important impulses from the central nervous system of the human body, all electrical, heating, ventilation and sanitary lines supply the various living areas with life from a central technology shaft
Backdrop for films and shoots
My red house was a wonderful combination of functionality and design. Perhaps Le Corbusier would have liked it, the efficient use of space adapted to the individual functions certainly would.
The futuristic-looking building has therefore been repeatedly requested as a location for photo shoots or filming, for example for the German feature film “Dampfnudelblues”, which made its debut in 2013.
The house was controlled via a wall-integrated 17-inch touchscreen, which I built on the basis of a cash register display. The KNX server was a Gira Homeserver 3, which could be controlled via iPhone, iPad and web browser. That was unique at the time.
During the filming of the movie “Dampfnudelblues”, my automatic blinds were a constant source of amazement: they adapted to the position of the sun, which was a completely new world for the “lighting crew”. Another highlight for the “film police”: as soon as someone even approached the front door, there was a message via the visualization in the house.
The press and television took an interest in the house, so that within a short space of time, many publications also appeared on the subject of “Smart Home with KNX”. I received my first inquiries from clients exclusively for villa projects.
It went on: for example, the house was among the finalists in the “Bauwelt Preis 2009” competition. There was a program on Bavarian television in the evening show and media such as “Stern” or “Die Welt“ reported on the building. The Süddeutsche Zeitung described the building as an “example of successful architecture in Munich”.
Designer house with 85% self-sufficiency?
Achieving a high level of self-sufficiency in conjunction with the networked KNX smart home is the basis of our current concept and planning.
This can be achieved, for example, with a comprehensive PV roof, the right-sized battery storage system and an intelligent KNX control system. Everything that is technically possible and sensibly feasible today in 2024 was not even remotely conceivable when I started out.
Review: Technical status 2008
We took our first steps with “test setups”, which were continually revised over the months and years. I count the years 2008 to around 2014 in particular as the difficult early days.
Back then, hardware components and software were not as sophisticated as they are today, making it possible to adapt to individual and, above all, sophisticated buildings.
We often had to try things out in order to find a solution. Nevertheless, the products from certain manufacturers that offered the desired functions were anything but mature.
Gira Homeserver & Touch Panels: Awesome!
At this point I remember the Gira Homeserver in versions 3 and 4, which at the time was by far the most powerful computer for controlling larger detached houses and especially villas. The Gira Homeserver 3 and its successor 4 were also unbeatable when it came to graphical and sophisticated visualization and control via touchscreens.
But just as great were the difficulties and hurdles in implementing the simplest functions, which we can only laugh about today.
As the technology became more sophisticated, so did the demands of our customers and clients, so that the implementation of the software in particular was a constant headache for us.
I gained most of my experience early on construction sites for sophisticated buildings – Frank Völkel
Conception & planning: SFH to high-end villa
Most of our projects remain anonymous; like us, many clients value their privacy. Only very rarely do you see pictures like this one. In videos on our YouTube channel “Smartest Home” and on social media, we often show technical details of individual detached houses and luxury villas.
Speaking of electrical planning: where there used to be a few lines and symbols, today complex planning with a cross-discipline concept is necessary. Just one example: architectural planning, interior design planning, garden planning, kitchen planning, bathroom planning and HVAC planning are all integrated in KNX/GS electrical planning.
The start was anything but easy. I had to find the right software that fulfilled all the functions for our purposes and was fully compatible when exchanging data with trades such as architects/interior designers, HLS planners, garden planners, pool planners and kitchen planners.
After several failed attempts with special proprietary planning software, we decided on AutoCAD as an important basis for CAD electrical planning. Ultimately, it is important that everyone involved in the project can do something with a structured DWG data set. This mainly concerns the 2D area, as 3D data can always be created from it later.
Simplicity is the key to operating and controlling a home in 2024. For example, the energy balance can be called up at a glance in real time at any time. Energy balance? That’s quite simply put – what electricity goes in and what goes out. Compared to my beginnings 16 years ago, the control system has become much more perfect, clearer and faster.
Even historic buildings such as this small castle can be taken to a whole new level with KNX networking and customized equipment (e.g. heating, scenic lighting, door and window contacts). The design and planning process is similar to that of an old building or a classic villa. In addition, there are special features of the building structure that need to be taken into account, for example when running cables through very thick walls, the dimensions of which differ greatly from today’s buildings.
Existing usable plans? As a rule, there are none.
Over the years, our electrical planning has become increasingly complex and demanding. On the one hand, this is due to the possibilities offered by the technical equipment and, on the other, to the high demands of the clients. Just one example, representative of a larger private house: from conception and planning to the final installation. Move-in of the builder can take up to 24 months!
In between lies the extensive coordination with the other trades such as architectural planning, interior design planning, heating, air conditioning, lighting planning/lighting, ventilation system design, etc. In order to develop properly functioning detailed solutions, we need a great deal of knowledge about the interaction of the individual components and experience with other similar construction projects.
In some cases, test set-ups in a laboratory environment provide us with important findings in order to find the perfect detailed solution for the client. This often involves a great deal of time and effort.
This often involves very personal matters that are important to the client and for which there is no out-of-the-box solution .
The vast majority of electricians in “upmarket” single-family house construction – as I like to call it – are glad that they have our experience and detailed planning documents and specifications/dimensioning of components and can devote themselves fully to the actual business – the electrical installation.
Smart Home Villa?
In the past I have been intensively involved with the topic of “Smart Home Villa” for years. On the one hand, this is due to the demanding client projects that we were able to plan in full and bring to life and, on the other, to the inquiries from architects who were looking for a technical smart home concept for very demanding clients.
It’s not so easy to put it in a nutshell, but I often say: compared to a “normal” detached house, everything in a smart home villa is larger and of a higher quality. Es gibt einfach mehr elektrische Komponenten im Haus und in den Außenbereichen. Auch sind alle Details viel klarer herausgearbeitet und die Ausstattungstiefe erreicht noch einmal ein ganz anderes Level.
I have more details in the blog post “What is a smart home luxury villa?” based on my own experiences with clients and the individual, sometimes very luxurious and unusual buildings.
Thanks to demanding clients who entrust us with the design and planning of their intelligent homes, we learn and develop every day.
We are able to handle inquiries from clients for individual houses throughout Germany and Switzerland.
The focus here is on sophisticated advice with manufacturer neutrality, coordination with all other trades such as interior design, HVAC, kitchen, bathroom and garden planning and trusting proximity to the client.
Smartest Home milestones
Trust
I have been talking to building owners from German-speaking countries on an almost daily basis for many years. For the most part, these are people with very specific wishes and ideas when it comes to “connected buildings” and their privacy. Most clients are successful entrepreneurs and have already achieved a lot in their lives.
They are interested in solid, high-quality technical equipment that will still allow them to recognize the building as new in 15 years’ time. Although the building is architecturally/technically state-of-the-art, most clients are not interested in short-term trends.
These are individual new-build smart homes, sometimes at the limits of what is feasible, which we accompany from conception to moving in. It is not uncommon for us to develop a friendly relationship beyond this, where we exchange experiences.
The friendly, respectful interaction with each other and getting to know completely new, extraordinary personalities is one of the main reasons that motivates me the most in our work. The in-depth knowledge of the subject matter and the daily learning and struggle for solutions are things that a building owner can expect.
I consider the trust that contractors place in me as part of my consulting and planning work to be a special privilege. This trust allows me to show new perspectives and share experiences that the client is willing to open up to.
An important impulse I would like to give is gratitude and an awareness of everything the client has already achieved, enabling them to get an unusual smart home project off the ground with us.
