The foundation stone was laid for the hotel The Fontenay in Hamburg Alsterpark in August 2014. After three-and-a-half years of building, the five-star hotel with 130 rooms and suites opened in March 2018.
The striking design was by the star Hamburg architect Jan Störmer. The basic layout consists of three merged circles, so that no wall in the spectacular building runs parallel to another. A hotel of such distinctive form must also have custom-designed security. The choice was ultimately made for the German video manufacturer Dallmeier. The Dallmeier subsidiary DEKOM Video Security & Network GmbH (DEKOM) was tasked with management of the project – since its main offices are in Hamburg it was well positioned, the firm says.
The first planning meetings were held as early as 2015; when the customer laid out its strict specifications. The hotel required security without giving the guests occasion to feel under observation, and without detracting from the architecture. For example, visitors should be able to enjoy unrestricted views of the 27-metre high circular atrium and its seven metre long light sculpture. Another important consideration was that the video security system should be sustainable. The hotel also insisted on the solution conforming to data protection requirements.
Wolfgang Haack, managing director of DEKOM, says: “The entirely justified wish on the part of the customer to ensure security for all areas with video security technology often conflicts with the demands of data protection. Our objective was to reconcile these concerns.”
Based on the specifications, it became clear that the hotel required the smallest possible number of cameras. This meant that only ultra-HD cameras could be considered so that the entire video security system could be kept discreet and unobtrusive. For system planning purposes, this approach in turn entailed the use of appropriate network components and in particular of servers for recording. Dallmeier says its systems are capable of storing enormous quantities of data and backing them up redundantly – also for prolonged periods of time.
DEKOM project manager Kai Gebhardt says: “Given the large quantities of sensitive data, it became clear very early that in this project data protection and data security must be considered very carefully. The combined data protection and data security module from Dallmeier guarantees secure operation and helps the customer to comply with all requirements of the GDPR.”
To train staff in the new video security system, a team from DEKOM was deployed to the site and took the hotel security personnel in the system and the management software.
