At the heart of New York City’s Times Square neighbourhood, the new Times Square Edition hotel reckons t use audio, video, lighting, system control and broadcast infrastructure at the edge of what’s technologically possible. With successful designs/installations at other Edition properties and Studio 54 co-owner and hotelier Ian Schrager projects, Clair Solutions served as audio, video, lighting and control consultant and integrator.
‘There are extremely high expectations for the Edition brand,’ says Michelle Caron, who designed the theatrical lighting and control in The Times Square Edition’s 200-seat Paradise Club and helped Tim Jacobs, Clair Solutions Project Manager juggle everything to get the project completed on time.
‘The goal for the Paradise Club is that A-list performers can walk into the space and immediately be comfortable with the gear, the acoustics, and the way the room looks, feels, and operates. The goal for the hotel overall is that it supports and inspires the new ways that twenty-first century people experience art and performance, as well as the new ways that artists expect to interact with their fans. Because the expectations were so high, we had to make sure that everything on our end met the highest standards, from first-of-its-kind LED video and lighting all the way down to the cabling and wall panels.’
In support of the new way that artists and their fans interact, The Times Square Edition is wired for broadcast throughout: ‘The idea is that someone like, say, Beyoncé could come and stay in the penthouse with her team’ Caron explains. ‘There’s fibre connectivity up there that links directly to broadcast-ready outputs at street-level, so they can stream a before-the-show meeting or record tidbits for fans, the Edition channel, or television. They could even stream video from the penthouse balcony, which has amazing views of the city. All of the common areas throughout the hotel have the same broadcast points. They could record a workout video in the gym – or at a private party in one of the restaurants, or any creative thing they dream up. Basically, any public space in the hotel can connect easily with a broadcast truck down on the street.’
While the Paradise Club features clear and impactful sound reinforcement, its multiple restaurants, bars, lounges and terraces have live-music quality sound systems capable of inspiring awe when driven by a DJ or small band for public or private parties. Paradise Club uses a CAT215/USLP218line array and 1AM stage monitors from Clair Brothers (sister company to Clair Solutions) powered by Lab.gruppen amplifiers with Lake processing.
The rest of the spaces use a combination of top-of-the-line Tannoy and Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers and subwoofers, QSC amplification, and QSC Q-Sys for overall system-level DSP. Clair Solutions put everything on schedulers so that volumes and content change at appropriate times without requiring intervention by the staff.
‘Although the spaces throughout The Times Square Edition won’t use it 99 per cent of the time, all of their sound systems have plenty of headroom and capability to handle high-profile live events,’ says system designer and Project Manager, Jan Luszczek. ‘They can handle DJs, small bands, and lots of open mics with plenty of impact and no feedback. Like we do for all of our clients, we tuned each system at The Times Square Edition like we would a high-end performance venue, a recording studio, or a concert hall. A lot of our clients are surprised at how far we go to get crystal clear audio, but it’s really deep in the DNA of the company.’
Prior to The Times Square Edition, Clair Solutions worked on Edition properties in Barcelona, London, Miami, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi, and is currently involved in Edition projects in West Hollywood, Dubai, Reykjavik, Singapore, Tokyo and Tampa
The Paradise Club, VIP Rooms, and The Terrace and Outdoor Gardens systems are controllable through intuitive IP-based Crestron interfaces that allow non-technical staff to configure systems for the kind of simple events and uses that tend to happen frequently. Added Elizabeth Strautin, systems engineer with Clair Solutions, ‘Depending on the nature of a given space, the interfaces are either wireless or wired touch screens. The Crestron DigitalMedia video routing system lets users connect any source to any destination, allowing, for example, the studios to be used as independent meeting spaces, overflow spaces or dressing rooms for the Paradise Club. Laptops and other user devices can be plugged in via HDMI or VGA inputs and the TVs can also be used to show TV programming.’
More: www.clairsolutions.com
