ESL at Bar Plazma

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

ESL ADD TOUCH OF MAGIC AT BAR PLAZMA

technology, news, march 2007, COMMENTS

When the plush new Bar Plazma in Wickford burnt down in October 2005 shortly after opening, it was hard to believe that it would re-emerge a little over a year later with an uprated specification.

But the town centre venue, owned by experienced nightclub operator Douglas Quirk and managed by Alistair Burrell (who had safely evacuated all the staff and customers on that fateful October evening), has done precisely that.

Quirk, who made his name running the epochal Hollywood Romford in the 1980s, turned to fellow Essex contractors, Southend-based ESL and interior designer Colin Stone of Stone Me Design, to deliver a superior interior package.

What they have produced is an upscale, all-day chameleon venue which trades from 11am until 11pm (midweek), 1am Thursday and 2am at weekends.

ESL were asked to carry out the technological integration following their success in converting Quilter’s into the Ivory Rooms in Billericay. “They were the ideal company for the job,” credits Burrell.

Asked to produce a continuous but constantly changing atmosphere - ranging between subtle mood lighting and a full-on club environment - ESL’s Mike Glover specified his products carefully, calling on multiples of Pulsar’s ChromaLight RGB Eyeball Downlighters, finished in silver, to be recessed into the ceiling. And from another design company, Malham, ESL have sourced quantities of LED ‘tape’ - discreet strips of tiny LED like a flexible PCB which can be recessed behind bar or bottle display areas to produce a warm, low-lighting glow.

On the busy dancefloor are four each of Martin Professional Wizards and SCX-500 Mania scans, complemented by two CX4 colour-changers. All lighting control is under the command of a Pulsar Replay unit with an outstation.

The highly-charged dancefloor, which really comes to life after 9pm, is probably in deference to Douglas Quirk’s disco past, and is highlighted by an electric drop-down screen onto which Sky Sports HD (and other content) is beamed by Mitsubishi hi-def projectors. There are also six 42in Samsung screens distributed around the 300-capacity venue, as well as three 20in Relisys displays behind the bar - all fed from the Kaleidovision KL2 audio/video system (running MP3 music and their own MPEG2 graphics system).

Taking daytime feeds from the Kaleidovision - along with a Denon DN-D4500 twin CD/MP3 player, Marantz DVD and terrestrial/satellite sources - are multiples of RCF Acustica C3108 300W loudspeakers (with 8in woofer) - processed via the BSS Soundweb Lite SW-3088 DSP. These are complemented by two ground-stacked S4012 (single 12in) subs, with a pair of white (175W) RCF Monitor 55’s acting as rear-fills. The system is powered from an Allen & Heath XONE:62 stationed in the DJ booth, while the video sources are switched via a Procon 8 x 8 matrix.

Says Mike Glover: “We favoured the RCF system for this application because it is sensitively-priced and the new Acustica range is voiced extremely well - in particular the 8in model.”

Plazma general manager Alistair Burrell explains that the venue was originally two buildings, which have been combined to create a micro nightclub. “We have deliberately identified an Over 25s crowd, wth an elaborate DJ and music system, offering dance nights as well as karaoke and live cabaret,” he says. A membership system exists for under 25s and admission is on the discretion of the management.

With its plush interior the venue is deliberately aspirational although the operators aim to preserve the comfort of their patrons by restricting admissions to 250. There is now a full lunchtime menu, including ‘Lite Bites and ‘Sharing Platters’, and with an upmarket clientele in mind, their extensive range of champagnes and wines can be served by the glass thanks to the Le Verre de Vin preservation system (which also keeps the champagne pressurised).

Wickford is scheduled for systematic redevelopment over the next 15 years - and Bar Plazma is well-positioned to take advantage, believes Alistair. “The Plazma experience is second to none,” he says, adding that if the formula proves successful the operators will look to roll out further Bar Plazma’s in the future.

From: March 2007 Issue

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