With nine and restaurant properties sread across the British capital, the Wolseley Hospitality Group’s latest venture sits at the gateway to London’s financial district – The Wolseley City – opened on the twentieth anniversary of its iconic sibling, The Wolseley Piccadilly.
With a grand, double-storey stone-clad restaurant and mezzanine dining, two private dining rooms, and three bar and salon spaces, The Wolseley City occupies a century-old building with interiors by design group, Fabled Studio. It features Byzantine chandeliers, Baroque ironwork and intricate 1920s Egyptian Revival touches.
Its grand pillars reference the vaulted ceilings and 10m-high pillars of its Piccadilly sister. Building on a reputation as one of London’s most prestigious daytime dining spots, The Wolseley City features live jazz and an enhanced evening ambiance, for which audio is key.
‘The Group knows the value of including audio at the concept design stage,’ says Shaun Wilson, Director at Knektd, the integration company that accompanied the Group in the opening of The Wolseley City.
Partnering the Group in its audiovisual ambitions, Knektd specified an L-Acoustics X Series audio system for The Wolseley City. ‘To match the prestige of the space and the name of this property, we recommended L-Acoustics, an audio brand that equals The Wolseley brand in quality,’ he confirms
The loudspeakers were required to provide powerful and coherent coverage throughout, while blending into the décor. The Knektd team looked to accomplish this with loudspeakers placed at the top of the massive marble pillars. ‘We used L-Acoustics Soundvision 3D modelling software to see if we could get even coverage throughout from this high placement,’ Wilson explains. ‘Soundvision showed us that we’d get a perfect result.’
Twenty-four L-Acoustics X4i are placed around the main dining room, many RAL-colour matched to the décor. Eight SB10i subs are placed at the bottom of pillars or hidden in walls and banquettes. On the mezzanine and private rooms, eight further X4i are discreetly placed at the ceiling, while six SB6i are built into the walls. The system is powered by seven LA2Xi amplified controllers, occupying just 7U of rack space.
‘We are fortunate to have been involved in amazing projects where audio has been considered early on,’ Wilson says. ‘Design is key to a feeling of comfort, and sound that is heard but not seen is integral to that experience.’
He says that installing commercial-grade ceiling speakers for daytime and then hire professional PA systems for night-time are a thing of the past: ‘Brands are seeing the value of making audio choices at the concept design stage. It allows them to create a seamless experience that contributes to the aesthetic, the mood, and the atmosphere. At The Wolseley, this kind of experience is crucial to the fabric of the restaurant.’
Regarding the partnership with L-Acoustics, he says that the brand’s ‘front-end service’ in terms of design and technical sales support is second to none: ‘The documentation and technical knowledge base are invaluable.’
‘Working in collaboration with Knektd, we have struck the perfect ambiance for the property,’ says Liga Piraga at Fabled Studio. ‘The L-Acoustics professional audio system provides just the right amount of powerful coverage while blending seamlessly with the design aesthetic. We couldn’t be happier.’
More: www.l-acoustics.com
