Drawing from his years of experience with multiple automation systems, Vista Serena’s dueño de casa recognized that larger touchpanel interfaces inherently occupy high-visibility positions for necessary easy access. In one former home, he remarked, the installed panels struck him as coldly industrial, referring to them as austere and pedestrian. In a more recent residence, a different brand appeared messy and complex, seeking to legitimize its sophistication by forfeiting convenience and straightforward functionality. As the end-user homeowner and specifying architect, he was relieved to discover how RTI delivered a visually appealing, systematically competent alternative. Customizable touchpanel overlays featuring actual floorplans of the residence created the intuitive user experience he hoped to find while maintaining modern elegance in stride with the decor.

Although the Vista Serena concept centered on framing advanced technological products within an upscale lifestyle setting, the homeowner’s primary objective was to differentiate this project from his previous endeavors by ensuring these innovations discreetly functioned as unobtrusive stewards of the home, rather than allowing the residence to become aesthetically subservient to visible displays of technology.

Abundant amenities distinguish Vista Serena from neighboring properties. Its architecture emphasizes a crisp, contemporary stateliness with sleek, expansive lines that convey both unrestrained space and a comforting intimacy. The two-story enclave boasts RTI entertainment automation, which controls 22 audio zones and is seamlessly integrated into the technology platform that defines this desert retreat.

To describe his passion for the system and its ease of use, the homeowner revealed a “you-are-there” scenario. Pointing to the buttery-soft recliner, he asks you to imagine being quietly nestled, his RTI ISR-4 cradled comfortably in your palm. The touchscreen guides you with smartphone-like ease through every setting needed to shape your momentary escape. Pressing the RTI music icon invites atmospheric audio into the room, providing the backdrop against a gray, rainy Saturday morning. Selecting a second icon verifies the security system is operating and standing watchful. A tap on the lighting icon prompts the Vantage DMF system to extinguish all lights, while a second command lowers shades, isolating Vista Serena from the outside world. From the RTI remote, he suggests matching the interior climate with the overcast weather. Finally, he unveils the grand finale, parting the expansive motorized glass patio doors slightly, letting the soft rhythm of splashing raindrops add another layer of percussion to Joni Mitchell’s Blue album.

The handheld ISR-4 is capable of nearly every function of the in-wall IST-10-B touchpanels placed throughout the roughly 11,000-square-foot, multi-tiered, ultra-modern desert home. Ultra-thin with satin-gloss black bezels that hug the walls nearly flush, the IST-10-B 10” touchpanels depict the estate’s lower and upper level room layouts in crisply detailed, blueprint-dimensioned fashion. Connected to RTI XP-8v and XP-6s processors operating behind the interfaces, proximity sensors wake the panels to display all controllable options for Vista Serena’s operational and entertainment infrastructure.

These touchpanels enable intuitive management of the estate’s nine climate zones and full-spectrum interior lighting layout, including color temperature adjustment. An astronomical clock in the RTI processors controls the on/off times of the Vantage exterior landscape lighting, automatically corresponding to daily dusk and dawn time changes.

The massive front entry door is surveillance-monitored, with video doorbell and intercom communication available on all RTI interfaces and mobile applications. Real-time high-fidelity video monitoring of network-based security streams from nine perimeter cameras is also available. RTI ISR interfaces enable estate-wide intercom communication, a step-saver the homeowner prizes in the multi-story residence.

Among the most challenging aspects of programming the RTI automation system was managing the aggregate level of command lines for integration with third-party products. RTI monitors and controls every aspect of Vista Serena’s pool and hot tub, including water temperature, fountains, outdoor heaters, and RGB accent lighting.

Realizing nothing was compromised compared to larger, cumbersome tablets posing as remotes, the homeowner selected an ISR-4 to captain Vista Serena’s residential cinema. He appreciated that, similar to the IST-10 touchpanels, the remote features an ambient light sensor that adjusts display brightness to match the surrounding illumination and, when lifted from the ISR-AB base, activates delay-free operation.

Beyond charging, the base functions as the ISR-4’s dedicated wired or wireless Wi-Fi access point and includes a “Find My Remote” button to trigger an audible signal from the ISR-4 if undocked. Video sources from the central system rack power the home theater and are also distributed by RTI to 13 independent displays across the estate.

Vista Serena demonstrates that no project is too large or complicated for RTI processors, touchpanels, and handheld remotes. Complex systems, including lighting, climate, surveillance, and security, are unified into a simple, intuitive interface that gives occupants effortless fingertip control over every detail. To paraphrase the Las Vegas slogan:

With RTI, “What happens in Vegas, can happen anywhere!”