Alea, Leeds

Alea, Leeds

Alea

Leeds

venues, October 2008, COMMENTS

There’s nothing better than a delayed opening to build anticipation of a new venue launch. Postpone for a few weeks and in the distance it’s possible to hear the gentle judder of the rumour mill creaking into action as the theories start to fly. And when those weeks stretch into months, it’s almost guaranteed some of the hypotheses will have stuck, and wriggled their way into some people’s perceptions of fact.

The third Alea, and eleventh London Clubs International (LCI) venue in the UK, was initially due to launch in March but through tactical planning alone was held back and launched on 10 September.
“The delay was just a conscious decision. As a company we’d opened Manchester, we opened Nottingham, and then Glasgow at the end of February. Leeds was scheduled to open incredibly close to Glasgow and we didn’t want to do it and get it wrong,” revealed Andy Orr, club manager for Leeds’ Alea and Manchester235.

With the opening of the latest Alea, LCI has completed a year during which it has swollen its impressive portfolio by four venues. Each of the locations mentioned by Andy has been specifically targeted for their ‘energy and vibrancy’, but the notion of rolling out a generic brand was never an option, something that is signified by the choice of designer on each project, as Andy explained: “What we did want to do throughout each of the four provinces was have a different designer for each unit, so the concept’s the same but the interpretation’s unique.” Driving creativity on Leeds’ Alea was Blueprint Interior Design, with theming from RMB Contracts, who have lavished the massive space with a plethora of design features and collaborated with a number of more regular LCI contractors. These included architects Burrows Cave International and main contractors TMC Ltd.

The location at Clarence Dock is an exciting regeneration project comprising hotels, restaurants, bars and some nice retail offers like All Saints, Rock Couture, G-Star Raw and Aspecto - the site offered a blank shell, low on build restrictions. On top of the central location, the draw of the other outlets, and the adult nature of that draw, means an influx of customers perfect for Alea’s target market.

Built across four floors, over 65,000 ft, Alea is not only a casino, but a multifaceted entertainment complex. The 1,700-capacity venue houses six bars, two restaurants (including Michelin-starred Indian chef Vineet Bhatia’s Bird), a luxurious events space, two state-of-the art gaming floors, a self-contained gaming suite, a sumptuous 52-seat private cinema and full conference facilities.

Stepping into the venue from the reception area, to the right the Fig restaurant is a Mediterranean offer that has an overall contemporary feel, but with a juxtaposition of materials. The contrast includes raw slate, exposed brickwork and timber sitting alongside a very modern, curving, galvanised bar, electronically operated Privalite glass and soft, squidgy leather on the large round booths. Rich ochre marbles along with yellow, orange and red lighting in the concealed soffit create a warm glow designed to entice passers-by who can see the restaurant and catch glimpses of the gaming area at the rear through an expanse of glass to the front façade.

Blueprint director Peter Hodgson explained the theme of the ground level: “The hook line for the ground floor entrance is definitely horizontal lines in a circular format, like the rear illuminated timber bands to the curved reception wall and the mix of floor finishes in circular format. Inside the main area, the gaming space itself is in a central circular format with a walk around route in marble.”

Up on the first floor, space is maximised by the seven metre high ceiling and the design, thanks to the generous incorporation of technology, has a more cutting-edge feel. TMC, under the project management of Dave Turnbull has combined dynamic rear projection, in the form of nine dnp Supernova portrait screens arcing around the first floor balcony, and a striking Ayrton Dream Panel flaming pixel wall from Lighting Effects Distribution, curving seductively around the top of the bar. The latter cuts a dramatic figure, as ‘layered’ flames, fired from an ArKaos media server leap up across the 128 pixelated tiles, under a water feature which bubbles overhead, resulting in a unique bar concept.

While seven Christie DS+300 single chip DLP projectors are retro-mounted in the vertical plane to fire onto the Supernova screens, the space to accommodate the final two rear-projected rigs were so confined, affording less than a metre’s projection depth, TMC called upon the engineering skills of Paradigm AV, the Supernova distributors, that were able to provide two single, side-on custom mirror rigs. These cradle the two remaining DS+300 projectors, fitted with 0.8:1 lens, with the rig folding the horizontal beams off the mirror.

Soon those nine portrait screens, with their ability to take nine separate inputs, will be able to offer a ‘Chase the Dragon’ type game in its own right in which punters will be able to bet on which screen a chasing dragon will come to rest in. This joint collaboration between TMC and Digital Video Systems (DVS) is currently under development.

For the time being the displays are showing specially-shot content and ambient graphics in standard 4:3 aspect ratio, with a component signal sent to each of the screens from a bespoke server provided by DVS. The pre-formatted footage is supplied by On 101 and eventually a serial interface from DVS will allow the ‘Chase the Dragon’ game to be triggered from the server, and automatically triggered back to the standard programme afterwards.

Elsewhere, TMC has called upon Kaleidovision’s promotional graphics and scheduling software to relay messaging to the strategically placed plasma screens the KL2/DJV4 system, with remote touch screen operation.

Breaking away from the circular theme of the ground floor, the first floor is based around a square format. A representation of this can be seen in square, patterned Bisazza mosaic tiles that clad circular columns. At the far side of the gaming area, entrances to Bird Restaurant on the left and Lux bar lounge right can be found. Within the Lux bar lounge, a central seating area is outlined with illuminated stacked glass screens and a mirrored barrasol ceiling, complete with a centrally positioned, dark porcelain chandelier. This all sits together well with the cream leather furniture.

Bird is a larger, more open area with the full seven metre high ceilings, compared to Lux where the ceiling is dropped below a mezzanine level. It features a central walkway, which steps down into the seating areas and is defined by various mesh and glass screens, which differentiate the areas whilst allowing a view of the main gaming area and Lux.

The restaurant is illuminated by pendant lights that hang over the tables, which can be manoeuvred along a rail to be directed over the tables, regardless of table layout. Two large wicker and acrylic chandeliers provide further feature lighting and are reflected in swept frame mirrors, fixed at a slight angle on the vertical soffit above Lux.

Tak-a-Tak can be found to the rear of Bird, and offers a different eating option focused on chefs preparing Asian style tapas whilst entertaining diners seated around them. The backdrop to Tak-a-Tak is a seven-metre high timber and lattice screen, with a large glass, decorated centrepiece. Behind this is an opulent fine dining area, complete with a glass, walk in wine wall.

A staircase from the main gaming area leads to a mezzanine, balcony area overlooking the whole of the first floor. From here Face to Face can be accessed, which has been designed specifically for poker, with facilities for televised competitions.

On the second floor above, the Eagle Picture House accompanies the event space and bar. Blueprint has used a range of luxurious finishes, including lush, red leather, lounge furniture with small tables. TMC has installed a Christie DW3K three-chip projector, Unicol-mounted to the ceiling, via DVI input. Playback is through a classic JBL 5.1 cinema system comprising three 3677 enclosures, two 3310’s and a 3655 subwoofer.

With so many facets to the venue, it’s no surprise that opinions are divided on favourite parts of Alea. Andy Orr commented: “I’ve got to say it’s the downstairs area as you walk in, and that’s saying something because it’s got some stunning bits but I think it’s got the warmest welcome of any casino I’ve been into.” Peter from Blueprint explained: “Although the ground floor has been well designed to attract across the board clientele, the first and second floors are very special and although there are a number of features to comment on, we’re most proud of the fact that they all hang together so well.”

After the much-anticipated arrival of the latest Alea, LCI will now wait to see what happens with the granting of new licences before plans of new venues are made, but it’s fairly certain that when they do, they’ll be done with the depth, style and panache of Alea, Leeds.

Words: Michael Nicholson

Images: Jim Ellam

From: October 2008 Issue

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