Nestled atop the breathtaking Tahko Hill in eastern Finland, the newly opened Panorama Landscape Hotel offers a one-of-a-kind experience for its guests. Featuring ten distinct landscape suites, a forest spa, and upscale dining, the property combines rural luxury with state-of-the-art building automation technology behind the scenes.
Serene luxury in the Finnish hills
The Panorama Landscape presents a unique getaway experience in the Finnish hills, with ten suites for 1-2 guests, a forest spa featuring five natural spring water pools and three saunas, and the Havu Kitchen and Bar led by ‘chef of the year’ Kim Mustonen, which can accommodate up to 80 people.
CEO Harri Jokela aimed to establish a ‘dream destination’ in the Tahkovuori resort, where guests could relish tranquillity and serenity. “Our hotel’s concept revolves around providing a comprehensive sensory experience, and that’s precisely what our customers have praised us for, with many expressing that they have never encountered such an experience elsewhere,” Jokela explained.
Comfort and convenience at the touch of a button
Complementing the atmosphere of luxury and serenity at the hotel are ABB’s intelligent building automation solutions that allow the property environment to be easily adapted to residents’ needs through user-friendly touchscreens, while also reducing energy consumption from lighting, heating, and cooling systems.
The worldwide standard for home and building automation, KNX, enables all devices to communicate with one another via a single bus cable, streamlining all electrical functions that are connected for easier management and control. The operational flexibility of an ABB i-bus® KNX electrical installation includes components ranging from lighting, shutter, and temperature control to energy management. Installing a KNX system can lead to a reduction in energy consumption from lighting and room heating control by up to 40 percent1.
A once-in-a-lifetime project
KNX effectively controls the lighting, heating, and ventilation of the Lähde Forest Spa array of amenities, including three saunas, five pools, a bar and lounge, the Wolf (24 m2), Bear (34 m2) and Moose (49 m2) landscape suites, and the flagship Havu Kitchen & Bar, along with hotel offices at the Panorama Landscape.
At the heart of the project was the understanding of modern customer needs and the delivery of a highly functional package. Pekka Aho, responsible for the electrical design and KNX integration at the Panorama Landscape, saw this as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to create an atmosphere of opulent luxury using the latest technological advancements.
“We have completed similar projects before, so I knew right away that KNX was the ideal choice for this project,” he said. “However, the Tahkovuori site is so extraordinary that such opportunities are rare in the career of an electrical designer.
“The KNX system’s open interface offers endless possibilities,” Aho continued. “It allows for the use of equipment from multiple suppliers, making it cost-effective, while the automation itself brings immediate benefits to the customer, as the entire system can be managed through a single platform.”
Controlling the indoor and outdoor environments
The ABB i-bus® KNX system not only enhances the comfort and convenience of interior spaces for guests and hotel operators, but it also demonstrates its adaptability and effectiveness in challenging outdoor conditions. Aho highlighted the system’s success during the past winter in the Tahko hills. “During the project planning phase, we thought a lot about the dimensioning of the snow melting in the outdoor spaces,” he explained. “On the upper slopes of Tahko, the snow flurries can be quite large, and this is exactly what happened last winter – the snow situation was challenging.”
Despite the heavy snowfall, the ABB i-bus® KNX system ensured that the hotel’s walkways remained warm and safe, whatever the weather – operating fully automatically.
[1] “Energy saving potential using modern electrical installations”, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Becker, 2008
