Adjacent to the Oxo Tower on the south bank of the Thames, the 12th Knot cocktail bar sits on the rooftop of Sea Containers Hotel and is known for its views across London and its atmosphere.
Needing to upgrade its audio system, the hotel turned to Tateside, who already provides managed A/V services across various areas in the hotel.
‘We’ve worked on projects throughout the Sea Containers hotel for a long time, including the cinema, background audio systems and the event space,’ says Tateside Technical Director Jack Cornish. ‘When it came time to upgrade the 12th Knot bar, they trusted us to deliver something special.’
For Tateside, the 12th Knot opportunity to handle the upgrade was an opportunity to showcase the company’s breadth of skills – from technical design to professional installation, in the face of significant time constraints. The client envisaged a solution that would complement, rather than compromise, the carefully curated ambience of its popular destination.
Over time, the prior audio system at 12th Knot had become inconsistent, with components frequently being moved to accommodate different events. As well as failing to keep pace with the evolving needs of the space, this was detracting from the aesthetics of the venue. Consequently, the client’s approach to Tateside was clear: to modernise the system, improve coverage across the entire bar area, and to make the set-up more discreet and better integrated with the surroundings.
‘The system wasn’t doing what it needed to anymore, and people were unplugging it or shifting things about,’ Cornish agrees. ‘It was time for a proper upgrade, and 1 Sound stood out as an ideal solution.’
Tateside designed the new sound system from the ground up based around 1Sound loudspeakers to address both technical and aesthetic concerns. For the interior bar area, the team installed 12 1 Sound C8i coaxial 8-inch and two C4i 4-inch loudspeakers, chosen for their small form factor and exceptional sound clarity. For the low-end, six 10-inch Sub310s, also from 1 Sound, were flown out of immediate sight lines, further preserving the all-important look and feel of the space. With triple 10-inch subwoofers, the Sub310s offer similar performance to larger models, but with a much smaller footprint. Tateside commissioned bespoke metalwork to secure this new loudspeaker system.
Two additional 1 Sound C8i loudspeakers for monitoring were installed in the DJ booth, which plays host to DJ sessions every weekend.
The previous installation had placed all amplification and processing equipment in a storeroom, which led to significant overheating issues. To solve this, Tateside undertook a complete cabling rerouting, running all cabling to a nearby communications room, alongside a full backend overhaul. This included the installation of a Q-Sys Core processor for flexible and intuitive signal processing and audio networking on a Dante network, alongside Powersoft Unica amplifiers, which provide a scalable amplification platform.
A Netgear managed switch takes care of advanced signal management. Day-to-day system control is via a wall-mounted QSC touchscreen controller and simplified Pragma Someo PoE wall controllers, giving 12th Knot staff ready control over source selection and music levels.
‘The original rack location just wasn’t working. It was way too hot, which affected performance. We moved everything to a nearby comms room and started afresh,’ says Cornish. ‘This gave us a reliable, scalable foundation.’
The installation faced several logistical challenges, particularly around working hours and preserving the bar’s operation. Every morning, ceiling panels had to be removed to access cabling routes and loudspeaker locations, and then put back into place by late afternoon so that the venue could open as usual in the evening. This extended the project timeline significantly, and required careful daily planning and coordination. Throughout the project, parts of the old A/V system needed to remain operational in order to keep the venue functional, requiring changeover dates to be carefully planned to minimise disruption.
‘It was important for us to commission something that just worked, something high-fidelity with great coverage and a system intuitive for the team to use day in, day out,’ Cornish says. ‘This wasn’t a small job; it was a fair investment from the client, and we needed to get it right, visually, sonically and operationally. We wanted to give them the best system they could have.
‘We’ve been working with Sea Containers as a client for a while now, and this project represented the next evolution in our long-term relationship,’ he adds. ‘We’re really pleased with the result, and the opportunity to showcase these high-end audio products along with our own expertise and skills.’
More: www.tateside.com