Alea Glasgow

Glasgow Alea

glasgow

Alea

venues, April 2008, COMMENTS

For many years it was impossible to overstate the importance of the River Clyde to Glasgow. It would often be referred to as the artery that pumped life into the city and connected it to global trade and industry. The world’s first commercial steamship launched on the Clyde in 1812, cementing Scotland’s reputation as a centre for industry. Glasgow thrived on the income generated from international business, with the river beating at the heart of its life, but with the downturn in industry came the demise of the Clyde and an identity crisis for Glasgow’s famous river.

Since 2001 the Clyde Regeneration has been in full swing with new property, bars and hotels popping up along an eight mile stretch of the river. The latest, and most noteworthy addition to the banks of the River Clyde is Alea, London Clubs International’s tenth UK venue and the second incarnation of the brand they launched in Nottingham in 2007.

Despite Alea being a brand, the Glasgow instalment is unique and true to the city in which it resides, something that Paul Rety, Casino Director, recognises as fundamental to its success: “One of the main aims was to incorporate elements of Glasgow in the design, even the way we’ve embraced the riverside location, using local artists, really making sure we became part of the city, embedded in the city, of the culture and everything it has, rather than just building a generic box that could be anywhere,” said the Glaswegian.

The venue is striking on a number of different levels: the way it lights up like a cruise ship at night, the shear size of the place, the multi-functionality that it offers and the rich, dramatic design features, not to mention the state-of-the-art casino.

A three-storey building (the second floor is still to be developed fully), it is a glazed structure designed by LCI’s long-term executive architects Burrows Cave International. The extensive interior has been designed by Real Studios, who were given the daunting task of turning 60,000 square feet into a major destination that appeals to Glasgow’s style conscious public.

Spread over two floors, destination venues rarely come so well equipped, with the ground floor boasting the Coffee Shop and Isobar flanking either side of the main gaming area, which is preceded by a spacious reception. The mezzanine level offers a smoking terrace, whilst the first floor provides more gaming space, sharing the main space with the Long Bar. Set in the wing, Face-to-Face offers a grand entertainment/poker hall, running parallel to the Red Leaf Bar & Restaurant, which faces out over the river, onto the city centre. A water theme runs throughout the design, as does the abundance of space that is offered in each, distinct area.

“The whole ideology is that you can move from one area of the venue to another, and feel like you’re in a completely different place,” revealed Paul.

Isobar offers traditional bar facilities with screens for watching sport, a snack menu, extensive drinks lists and comfortable seating in an aquatically inspired environment. Although this bar is relatively quiet in terms of design features when compared to the rest of the venue, it is a comfortable social space based on a cruise liner bar, with a touch of retro styling. It does include an installation co-created with Surface 3: a print of stylised fish and waves that appears on the mirror above the back bar, into which are set two A/V monitors displaying a film of swimming carp.

The main visual feature is the £500k, 14 metre wide, wooden wave that rises up, intersecting with the stairs and escalators, to break at the height of the building, providing a significant nod to the riverside location. The piece contributed to the overall two-year timeframe for the project due to the stumbling blocks that are synonymous with unique design features of such a large scale.

dha designs, as part of the lighting installation, worked closely with Real Studios to compliment all the different design features throughout. Due to the inaccessible nature of the wave, which can’t be stood on, an alternative solution was required and came in the form of a sculpture, hung from the crest of the wave. This reflects and refracts the light without actually having lamps on it, instead light comes from a moveable disc that can be accessed easily.

Positioned on the first floor, the Long Bar is a bold celebration of the huge scale of the venue. It is clad in decorative green and gold Bisazza mosaic tiles, which pool onto the floor to create an oasis of light. The bar is bookended by seating booths upholstered in shocking pink Designers Guild wallpaper and toning upholstery; their colour and pattern is replicated on the ceiling section that is posed over the central bar serving area. Dramatic Sputnik lights hang over the central seating space, also illuminated by an internally lit high table.

Picking up on the character of the city and its inhabitants, there is wit, as well as style, woven into the various public spaces: the Red Leaf’s entrance, for example, is flanked by two Moooi horse lamps (life sized horses in black moulded polyester with lamps on their heads). Immediately beyond the entrance, a vibrant red and black scheme features a bevel-edged red glass bar. The area is carpeted in Brinton’s Timorous Beasties (TB) Damask, coloured red and gold, and the same TB Damask wallpaper is used in alternating red and black colourways. An architectural cube structure creates a seating focus in the bar, with red chandelier glittering overhead.

To one side the moody red and black theme continues, with dining furniture upholstered in black or brown leather, or red velvet. A private dining lounge separates this space from the other half of the restaurant, presenting a sparkling scene of its own, with an ‘antique’ walnut dining table, gilded mirrors and contemporary chandelier. It is separated off from the two main restaurant spaces by fret-cut screens. The second restaurant space, beyond, has a contrasting but equally dramatic scheme of cream and gold with glittering cut glass chandeliers and is decorated with original art in gilded frames.

Real Studios worked with lighting consultancy dha, to ensure every element of the lighting plan was designed to heighten mood, atmosphere and impact, whilst meeting industry standard gaming light levels where necessary. A mixture of bespoke and iconic lighting features includes an innovative pendant designed by Real Studios for the gaming halls, which contains and conceals all the necessary security equipment as well as lighting elements. This crescent shaped fitting, in two sizes, is both functional and beautiful, covered in pleated silk shades of off-white and lavender on the ground floor; beige and black upstairs. Hanging 1m below the ceiling, the lamps reinforce a sense of theatre and glamour. The gaming floors have been transformed with colour coordinated, bespoke gaming tables designed to a brief, from Real Studios, by leading gaming supply company tcsjohnhuxley.

“The volume of the building will be impressive in its own right, but you have to draw people into the space and keep them there. That’s what we’ve tried to achieve, either by creating intimate pockets of activity in restaurants and bars, or through celebrating that volume with dramatic lighting and visual statements,” said Yvonne Golds, design director at Real Studios.

In response to the multi-functional nature of the venue, TMC have varied the audio and video installations to cater for the requirements that different areas demand. For background music in the gaming areas, TMC have installed a selection of Bose 251s, Model 16 and Model 32 loudspeakers, with the majority concealed in the pendant features, providing a warm and even coverage throughout. The Isobar has Bose panarray 502A and MB4 loudspeakers, which are particularly suited to this enclosed space. Two Pioneer 50” plasma panels are concealed behind the glass backbar that supply visuals for the ‘swimming carp’ feature, courtesy of graphics from Kaleidovision.

Three more Pioneer 50” plasma panels supply eye-catching ‘Bouncing Ball’ graphics to the mezzanine level, they have been fitted into specially constructed, chunky housings.

On the first floor, the Red Leaf receives background music through the Bose Freespace and Model 16 loudspeakers, whilst the Long Bar demands a more complex setup.

During the day the Long Bar requires background music, fed through the Bose 502A and MB4 system which is switched in the early evening to the pianist performing on the Golden Steinway Baby Grand Piano, which was also supplied by TMC. As evening rolls into night, the system is switched to the Long Bar DJ mode, providing a far more upbeat impetus. The video element of the bar is covered with a pair of striking, two metre, acrylic glassvue projection screens used for marketing graphics and sports coverage.

“The Bose systems are something that people comment on a lot,” enthused Paul.

Paul comes from a background in hotel management, spending a number of years with the city’s Thistle Hotel, before making the transition to casino management. He was deliberate in his methods to bolster his management team with talent from industries out with the world of casinos, so that they can ‘see the place through the eyes of the target market’. This move is paramount to Alea’s direction as they aim to be much more than a casino and particularly aim to attract females into what, in the past, was recognised as a male dominated environment. Recent research figures show that 38% of the clientele is, in fact, female.

Alea takes its social responsibilities very seriously, creating a social setting that breaks down casino stigmas. Play-for-free initiatives allow customers to enjoy the buzz of the casino without losing money; an opportunity to learn a game and perhaps have a flutter at a more comfortable date. A chill out room is used in situations when a customer may be a little erratic in their gambling and customer safety is at the forefront of operations. Being a destination venue means that those a little worse for wear are unlikely to stumble by, and customers can make a safe way home via taxis called from the reception.
Paul’s passion for the place is evident, and he makes full use of all it has to offer whenever he gets time off to do so, as he explained: “You can go for a few drinks in Isobar, watch the football, play a few electronic games, a bit of light music. Come upstairs, have a bite to eat in Red Leaf, you can go and watch a concert in Face-to-Face, then you can come out to the casino, or listen to a DJ in the Long Bar, what more do you need?”

Words: Michael Nicholson

Images: Jim Ellam

From: April 2008 Issue

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