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Homes

Technology rules in smart home

The Levys' New Tampa house is so intuitive, it welcomes them home and shuts down at night.

By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF
Published June 24, 2005

ARBOR GREENE - When Alex and Lisa Levy decided to swap downtown condo life to build their dream house in New Tampa, they envisioned more than the standard-issue builder's plan.

They wanted a smart home.

"I've always had a passion for computers and electronics," explains, Alex, 44, whose company, Florida Pre-Fab, designs and engineers metal buildings and building systems.

"This is my feature house in life, you might say."

The couple contracted with Ryland Homes to build a 4,000-square-foot house overlooking 1,500 acres of pine forest adjacent to Arbor Greene, a manicured gated community teeming with young families.

Alex also worked with Mike Stram, of Stram Electronics' Home Theater Gallery, 2825 S MacDill Ave. in South Tampa.

Stram designed the entire system - from the portable touchpads that control each room to the comfortable home theater with its reclining chairs, electronic shades, martini bar and wooden stage with fringed velvet curtains and gold molding.

The fiber-optic ceiling offers guests a view of a faux night sky, even shooting stars.

"It's really comfortable in here, my buddies and I have coined this the after-hours boys club," he jokes.

Alex's "buddies" live up and down the street in a dozen or so houses populated with young children and parents looking for a fun way to spend an evening without having to leave the gated compound.

"Around 11:30 at night, the kids have been put to bed; we all like to come up here and watch movies," he says. When the doorbell rings, he can look at a camera view of the front door on the movie screen to see who has arrived.

That's exactly how Alex wanted it.

He works hard, commuting to the Port of Tampa area where he co-owns a family business started by his father, a Cuban architect. The family immigrated to Tampa in 1961 from Cuba at the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Alex, who grew up in Tampa, remained attached to the idea of urban living well into adulthood. He lived in a rental unit at 345 Bayshore for a time, bought a condominium in the GrandView on Harbour Island, even owned two lots in Tampa Heights.

He and Lisa gave it all up for the sake of their year-old son, Darren.

"I couldn't see raising a child in a high rise," says Lisa, 37.

They decided to build a house in Arbor Greene "because it is a well-planned community and had everything we needed," she adds.

From the beginning, Levy worked with Ryland Homes and Stram Electronics to accomplish his goal of creating a fully integrated smart house.

He had the "vision" to think it through from the ground up, he says. Such vision was critical in implementing the house because everything from placement of power outlets to Stram's well-designed "Technology Closet" had to be planned from the beginning.

"Pre-wiring is everything. You want to make sure you have power everywhere you want it to be. That's why you have to think it through beforehand," Alex says. "We managed to convince Ryland to make Stram a preapproved contractor. He designed the whole system - he created the lighting and AV (audio visual) plan."

Lights, music and security cameras are controlled via wall touch pads. Each room is equipped with a flat screen TV and portable touchpads.

In the master bedroom, the TV is covered by a giclee print by an artist the couple likes that rises and lowers with the touch of a button. Blinds open and close on command. The couple can even check in on the baby from bed at 3 a.m. With the touch of a button, his bedroom and crib are projected onto the TV screen.

"It's imperative that the owners review plans and imagine how they will live and play out mentally every type of task you would perform that you would want to automate," Alex says.

He paid about $380,000 for the house before adding any technology. The theater alone cost more than $200,000. The technology throughout the house was a separate project.

"You can spend as little or as much as you want to," he says. "I wouldn't approach something like this without spending a bare-bones minimum of $50,000."

Walk in the front door, and the house shows its IQ. A press of a keypad button that says "Welcome Home" illuminates the house as if the family had been lounging for hours. Paintings are bathed in light, soothing music plays, even his chessboard table in the loft entertainment area is lit.

Alex couldn't help but tinker with the outside as well. He lit the pool with fiber-optic starry lights, added neon-like tubing to the outdoor barbecue bar and illuminated a tropical-tile mural over the grill.

Leave the smart house and the "Good Bye" button turns it all off. Sort of.

It shouldn't be confused with the "Good Night" button, Alex explains.

The "Good Bye" button leaves a few lights on to make it look like you're home.

The "Good Night" button shuts off everything.

Now that's a smart house.

[Last modified June 23, 2005, 08:09:06]