The exclusive club, bar and restaurant is housed in a three-storey 19th century granite building, which has been sensitively converted by Edinburgh-based architects/designers Kerr Blyth Associates (KBA). The result is 'The Albyn', which provides Aberdeen-based owners, European Development Company (EDC), with the jewel in their leisure crown.
Working with architectural technicians Canale Associates, KBA designed a two-storey extension to the rear of the property to incorporate the bar, restaurant and entertainment area, featuring a grand piano, acoustically tuned and suspended ceiling mirrors and booth seats. The members' lounge underneath is specifically designed for the over 30's crowd with a two-level Martini bar, sunken dance floor with integrated stage for live music and star-encrusted sofa area with delicate chain drapes.
Into this sumptuous environment Absolute designed the technological infrastructure based around a Martin Audio/QSC solution, networked via Soundweb DSP devices. "The venue's requirements were absolute quality and dispersion, and this goal was easily achieved thanks to the combination of products chosen," states their senior project design manager, Chris Preston.
Absolute quoted Martin Audio because their vast range of enclosures matched all operational and design requirements. And Preston added that QSC's CX range was selected because: "It provides amazing headroom and dynamics without having to really drive the system."
All the gain settings are stored in a pair of 9088ii Soundwebs, providing a 16 x 16 distribution matrix. This network is essential since the venue will route sound sourced from background music (the Kaleidovision KL3 hard drive), low-level sophisticated lounge jazz and live bands. A Soundweb 9010 'Jellyfish' (for local remote control) is provided on each floor.
Upstairs, Chris Preston has designed the sound reinforcement around four AQ8's at the main entrance bar and a pair of AQ10's matched with Martin Audio Blackline S15's, providing the venue with a portable system. Towards the back eight further AQ8's have been mounted on quick-fit, cut-down ceiling-mount brackets, giving the impression that the speakers are 'floating' from the amber curtain ceiling.
At lower ground floor level, a further four AQ8's provide coverage in the lounge's feeder bar, while an AQ10/Blackline S15 combination creates reinforcement for the tiny stage. Preston saved his heavy artillery for the dancefloor, ceiling mounting four AQ12's, reinforced by a pair of groundstacked Martin Audio Wavefront W2A . Alongside, four more black AQ8's maintain an even coverage for guests in the VIP area. In the engine room, the installer has turned to multi-channel QSC amplification to achieve the optimum results, designing the system around seven 4-channel CX404's, supported by a CX702, CX902 and CX1102.
Sharing responsibility for the high-class sound is KBA design director, Gail Thomson, who took charge of the acoustic treatment, creating the suspended 'mirrored' acoustic panels to deflect the high frequencies and absorb the lows.
Futurelight dynamic effects have been used exclusively for the automated lighting with a wide range of fixtures supplied by Difuzion. Graham Barron, who runs the division, has a long relationship with one of the venue's directors, Finlay Cran of Aberdeen-based European Development Company (EDC); he acted as consultant and lighting designer for the new exclusive 'Albyn', supplying the dancefloor effects via main technology contractors, Absolute Audio Systems.
Working closely with their design director, Gail Thomson, Barron specified
