Arding & Hobbs, Clapham

Control4 Audiovisual Integration at Arding & Hobbs

At Arding & Hobbs, the audiovisual needed to be flexible, intuitive, and largely invisible. SCCI delivered a Control4-based integration designed to support modern use while respecting the building’s heritage.

The Property

Arding & Hobbs is a landmark at Clapham Junction, long embedded in the identity of the local area. Formerly a much-loved department store, the building has been carefully repurposed into a multi-use destination spanning workspace, hospitality, events, and community use.

The redevelopment has been led by development and asset management firm x+why, whose approach focuses on preserving character while ensuring buildings remain relevant, useful, and welcoming to the people who use them. At Arding & Hobbs, that meant creating spaces that could move fluidly between business, leisure, and community activity—without losing the building’s arts-and-crafts heritage.

The Challenge

The challenge was not simply to add audiovisual. It was to introduce technology into a historic interior in a way that felt intentional, discreet, and human.

Spaces needed to support a wide range of uses: focused work, collaborative meetings, large-scale events, informal social gatherings, and private hire. These uses often overlap within the same rooms, sometimes within the same day. The technology therefore had to be flexible, intuitive, and quick to adapt—while remaining largely invisible when not in use.

Operational simplicity was critical. Users should not need technical knowledge to change a room’s function, and the system needed to work reliably across the entire building without constant oversight. At the same time, the solution had to respect the fabric of the property, avoiding visual clutter or intrusive hardware that would undermine the character of the space.

To deliver this balance, x+why appointed SCCI Alphatrack to design and integrate a building-wide system that could unify control, audio, video, and connectivity under a single, coherent platform.

The Technology

The solution is built around the Control4 automation platform from ADI | Snap One, providing a consistent control layer across diverse spaces and use cases.

At the heart of the system is a central Control4 controller, enabling audio, video, and room behaviour to be managed through simple interfaces rather than complex technical processes. This allows spaces to shift purpose quickly—supporting meetings during the day and social or hospitality use in the evening—without reconfiguration or specialist input.

Audio has been designed to suit both impact and restraint. In larger and more social areas, high-performance systems provide clarity and presence when the space demands it. Elsewhere, background audio is used more subtly, helping to shape atmosphere, manage ambient noise, and support comfort and well-being throughout the building.

Visual technology has been integrated with similar care. Large-format displays and projection are available where presentations, events, or conferencing require them but remain unobtrusive within period interiors. Apple TV and video-conferencing capabilities are available where needed, all accessed through the same control environment.

Underpinning everything is a robust, enterprise-grade network, ensuring reliable performance across control, media, and connectivity. This infrastructure provides the resilience required for daily business use while remaining scalable as the building’s needs evolve.

Brands used used within the Arding & Hobbs deployment include: