Theatrical Ambitions

Theater by All Around Technology Photo by Anice Hoachlander

Gracious Club Room

This dream theater in Easton, Maryland, combines understated elegance with state-of-the-art performance. The key to the success of this project was the collaborative partnership between All Around Technology, architect Peter Grina and the other designers on the project.

Mahogany walls and ceiling are inlaid with acoustic

panels and covered with AcousTex fabric.

A small concealed closet in the rear of the theater
hides the technology from view.

Theater Design: Tim Rooney, All Around Technology, Rockville, Maryland Architecture: Peter Grina, AIA, Grina-Lavie Architects, PLLC, Washington, DC Interior Design: Harold Simmons, Peter Van Hattum, Van Hattum & Simmons, Inc., New York, New York Acoustical Design: Keith Yates, Keith Yates Design Group, Auburn, California.

Clean and Simple Aesthetic

“The neatest thing about this house is the fact that we’re distributing music, HDTV and movies throughout the entire home…a fairly complex design,” says Tom Bernhart of this Mason Neck, Virginia, project. The Creston control program was designed by the Home Entertainment Company specifically to provide complete control, a dream come true for clients who love movies. The homeowners had requested the ability to watch any movie in their 1,200 DVD collection, anywhere in the home. They can also access more than 800 CDs, satellite XM music, and control the home’s lighting.

A six-foot deep equipment room was created to
house the equipment outside of the theater.

Theater Design: Tom Bernhart, The Home Entertainment Company, Fairfax, Virginia Architecture: The Lexington Group, Fairfax, Virginia.

 

Making a Cozy Cinema Room

This small loft-like space in a home in Reston, Virginia, was an odd choice for a theater and full of obvious challenges. Despite nearly 30 years of experience in the field, “this was not a space you could walk into and immediately say, ‘Okay, that’s how we’ll do this,’” said Tom Wells of Integrated Media Systems. But do it he did, as he worked with interior designer Diane Gordy on a creative and resourceful design for a small but fully equipped home theater.

The dormer opens into empty attic space, which
was used to store the equipment.

Theater Design: Tom Wells; Mike Desmond, Project Manager; Steve Person, Sales Director, Integrated Media Systems, Sterling, Virginia Interior Design: Diane Gordy, CID, ASID, DGI Design Group, Bethesda, Maryland.