Woods’ Silver Fleet sets sail with Flipside
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“When we first heard about the pavilion project, we knew it was the kind of venue that could really benefit from our expertise,” says Flipside managing director, James Cooper. “We understood exactly what they wanted to achieve with Woods Quay and how we could deliver something above and beyond their expectations.”
The opportunity to create this base came with the purchase of an old pub boat, The Queen Mary, located just 100 yards from their temporary base at the Savoy Pier. When The Queen Mary was floated away, it revealed a remarkable piece of London’s history.
“Underneath that there was an original Victorian steamship pier,” recalls Kate Woods, design & development director Woods’ Silver Fleet. “It hadn’t been used for 100 years; it was built when Sir Joseph Bazalgette designed Victoria Embankment. It was created for steam ships to ferry people up and down the Thames. We got rid of everything, all the stuff that had built up over the years and we put in exactly the same walkway down that there would have been when the Embankment was first built. Then with the help of Simon Skeffington from Architecturall we designed this very sleek new pavilion with great architecture and build quality which has gone into its place exactly in the same spot.”
With the pavilion designed, thoughts turned to equipping it in a way that would bring out the best in the venue as a premium events space. “Because we were investing a lot in the architecture of the pier, we wanted the AV system to be well-powered and well thought out but also discreet and not affecting the lines of the structure,” states Woods. “We wanted it to be powerful but discreet and obviously very sharp and high-level because it’s the luxury market that we’re working in and we needed to match people’s expectations.”
To meet this specific brief, Flipside designed a solution that could give a premium sound yet disappear into the background. “We’ve worked extensively with Yamaha equipment over the years, and we knew they would have the right solutions for the pavilion,” explains Cooper. “With the premium look of their speakers, combined with the powerful amplification and processing offered from their electronics we were able to build the right backbone for the system. We were then able to add in specific solutions from brands such as Apart, Outline and Sennheiser to complete the package.”
The entrance area is covered by Yamaha’s VXC6 ceiling speakers with the same solution used for the tasting area in combination with Apart’s CM20DT. Over in the bar it is the VXS8 and VXS5 surface-mount speakers supported but the VXS10S sub providing the reinforcement. Additional Apart ceiling speakers and a removable Outline Eidos 108 S subwoofer complete the bar solution.
Processing is courtesy of a Yamaha MTX5-D matrix while power is via the manufacturer’s XMV family amplifiers. Completing the signal chain are a Sennheiser EW300 G4 wireless microphone set for announcements a Yamaha PGM1 paging mic and an Apart PCR3000RMKIII media player which all serve as sources for the system. Simple control for the end user was another important factor with Yamaha MCP1 and DVP1V4S control panels providing access to the core settings.
“The acoustics in the pavilion are actually pretty good,” says Cooper. “The straw roof which the speakers are installed into provides plenty of absorption, so it was easy to create a controlled, uniform sound throughout the venue.”
The AV system was installed as part of the pavilion fit out project at Tilbury Docks before being moved to its permanent home.
