Autumn 2026
Create a seamless and sophisticated smart home automation experience by integrating smart home technology, providing convenience, safety, and enjoyment to your daily life.
Nowhere is that promise more relevant right now than in Malibu and Pacific Palisades, where high-end AV integration and whole-home control systems are being built into thousands of homes rising from the ground up after the Palisades, Franklin, and Woolsey Fires. For families planning a ground-up rebuild in Malibu and Pacific Palisades, every system below is easiest and most affordable to wire in before drywall goes up.
There was a time when "smart home" meant a stack of remotes on the coffee table and a Wi-Fi router blinking apologetically in the corner. That time is over. Walk through a rebuild taking shape along the coast today, and you'll find something closer to an operating system for daily life — lighting, climate, security, and entertainment quietly working in concert, usually without anyone touching a switch at all.
"People still picture home automation as gadgets," says Joseph Akhtarzad of Just One Touch Video and Audio Center. "But the real shift is that the technology has stopped asking for your attention. The best systems are the ones you forget are even there — until you notice your shades have already adjusted for the afternoon sun, or your whole house shifted into 'movie night' with one tap."
That philosophy — technology that recedes into the background rather than demanding to be managed — has become the defining idea in high-end residential automation. Akhtarzad has had a front-row seat to its evolution: Just One Touch has spent nearly two decades designing whole-home systems for Southern California clients, earning repeated national recognition, including a top-five ranking among the country's largest custom integrators.
Building it in from the foundation up
For families rebuilding in Malibu and the Palisades, that scale of loss has also created an unusual opportunity — one most homeowners never get. "Normally, automation gets added to a house that already exists. You're working around walls, running wireless where you can, compromising in places," Akhtarzad says. "A ground-up rebuild is the opposite. We're in the room with the architect and the contractor before drywall goes up. Every conduit, every low-voltage line, every panel location can be planned instead of patched in later. It's the single best time to build a smart home, even though nobody would choose the circumstances that got them there."
That early involvement matters most in three areas specific to fire rebuilds: life-safety integration, tying smoke and heat detection, water shutoff, and emergency lighting into one system so a threat triggers a coordinated response rather than an isolated alarm; resilience, with battery backup and generator integration wired in from day one so cameras, gates, and communications stay online during a power shutoff; and defensible-space awareness, with exterior cameras and sensors positioned to give homeowners visibility on approach roads and property perimeters, not just the front door.
"These are families who've already been through the worst version of a home going wrong," Akhtarzad says. "They're not asking for luxury first. They're asking, 'How do I make sure I see it coming next time, and how do I make sure my family can act on it.' We design around that first, and the convenience layer — the lighting, the audio, the effortless part — comes after."
That convenience layer still matters. Lighting control now responds to context — the angle of the sun, the time of day, whether anyone's actually in the room — while motorized shading works alongside it, cutting UV exposure and heat gain without a homeowner touching a cord. Multi-room audio, once a wiring nightmare requiring a separate amplifier per zone, is now configured from a tablet. "Audio is emotional in a way lighting isn't," Akhtarzad says. "People remember how a house sounded. Getting that right is still some of the most satisfying work we do."
The human layer behind the technology
Ask Akhtarzad what separates a good automation system from a great one, and he doesn't start with hardware brands. He starts with process. "Anyone can sell a homeowner a box of equipment. The harder part — the part that actually matters — is designing a system around how a specific family actually lives, and right now, for a lot of our Palisades and Malibu clients, that includes designing around what they lived through."
That client-first approach explains why so much of Just One Touch's business comes from referrals and repeat clients, and why the firm emphasizes long-term support over one-time installation. Smart home systems, unlike a light fixture, are not "install and forget" — firmware updates and new integrations mean a system needs a relationship, not just a purchase, a point that matters even more for a rebuild meant to last another generation.
What's next
Looking ahead, Akhtarzad sees the next leap coming from deeper integration rather than flashier gadgets — systems that anticipate needs, coordinating climate, lighting, security, and resilience as a single intelligent layer rather than separate features bolted together.
For homeowners rebuilding from scratch, his advice is refreshingly unglamorous: don't chase the newest device, and get the integrator into the design conversation early. "The families who wait until the walls are up lose most of their options. The families who bring us in with the architect get to build the house they actually want — one that's smarter, safer, and ready for whatever comes next."
Control point checklist
For families planning a ground-up rebuild in Malibu and Pacific Palisades — every system below is easiest and most affordable to wire in before drywall goes up.
Lighting
Scene-based lighting (day/night, entertaining, away)
Daylight and occupancy sensors
Motorized shading integrated with lighting system
Climate
Zoned HVAC control by room or floor
Smart thermostats tied to occupancy and schedule
Humidity and air quality monitoring
Security and access
4K exterior cameras with remote viewing
Smart locks and gate access control
Perimeter and approach-road sensors
Video doorbell with two-way audio
Life safety
Interconnected smoke, heat, and CO detection
Water leak detection and main shutoff automation
Emergency lighting triggered by alarm events
Coordinated alert routing (phone, monitoring, family)
Resilience and power
Battery backup for cameras, gates, Wi-Fi
Generator integration with automatic transfer
Backup cellular connectivity if internet drops
Audio and entertainment
Multi-room audio with independent zone control
Home theater / media room integration
Outdoor audio and video for patio and pool areas
Network infrastructure
Whole-property Wi-Fi (mesh or wired backhaul)
Dedicated low-voltage panel and conduit planning
Wired backbone for critical devices
Control and interface
Single app or panel for whole-home control
Simplified interface for kids and guests
Voice control integration
Planning note: every item above is easiest and cheapest to wire in before drywall — get the integrator into design conversations alongside the architect and contractor, not after.
Source: Joseph Akhtarzad, Just One Touch Video & Audio Center.
Our RE-BU contributor
Joseph Akhtarzad is a principal at Just One Touch and Video & Audio Center, a Los Angeles-based smart home and AV integration firm recognized nationally among the country's top custom electronics retailers. With nearly four decades of experience designing whole-home automation, security, and entertainment systems for Southern California residences, he specializes in guiding fire-rebuild clients in Malibu and the Palisades through ground-up smart home planning. Joseph brings that expertise to RE-BU magazine as a contributing expert on rebuilding smarter, safer homes from the ground up.