COPFORD

ESCAPE

VENUES, FEBRUARY 2007, COMMENTS

When Shea Properties unleashed the award-winning Mayhem in Southend on the public last year, their principle designers could little have realised that a similar challenge would await them so soon - despite the fact that the owners had already purchased the building that would become Escape several years before.

The challenge confronting Mike Glover of ESL and interior designers Sampson Associates was to implant their cutting edge design into a smaller (600-capacity) footprint outside Colchester - and use some technological alchemy to conjour up further innovation.

“It was essential we created a number of talking points at Escape, since this was to be a destination venue,” declared director, Jason Smith.

This truly is an escape from reality. Just as ESL had installed the fast-dispersing CO2 jet heads into Mayhem, this time it’s six floor traps which blow upskirt, Marilyn Monroe/Seven Year Itch style, activated by the waitresses’ remote control fobs.

If this provides the mild embarrassment on the distaff side there is a bigger shock awaiting the men in the high-class toilets. The gents urinals, dreamed up by Sampson Associates, are backed by moving images, as beautiful girls (sensor-activated) challenge the manhood of the unfortunate victim. The Ladies, in turn, features double cubicles (each adorned with a mirrorball), a dancing pole, full banquette seating backlit with neon and hair straighteners. It’s a mini experience in its own right.

The venue itself, a grand Grade-II listed Georgian building with a restored frontage, is set back on the London Road at Copford. Residential at the top, at various times it has been a hotel, a pub called the Windmill and latterly Kings nightclub.

During its last iteration an extension was added, which Shea Properties have had replaced, to create a giant aspirational rectangle, rich in subtle, diffused LED lighting. They also brought in SRL, who provided the necessary acoustic insulation, tasking ESL with meeting their specification via controlled speaker placement.

But the technology integrators have gone much further, taking Sampson Associates’ ideas - such as the use of Barrisol stretch fabric - and turning them into 3D reality.

ESL have deployed a pair of ShowCAD Artists, the multi-role lighting and show controllers, commanding four DMX Universes (via four Pulsar DMX splitters) and five PCs. Lighting power is provided by four Anytronics Contractor 24 dimmer packs and a custom built mains switching unit.

In the Gents toilet six 42in Panasonic hi-def screens, mounted in portrait shape, are assigned in pairs to three PCs, driven by ShowCAD Artist.

This acts as a video HD player, linked to the proximity sensor that triggers the urinal flush, and sends out 5 x 4 component video signals. ShowCAD’s Mick Martin, probably sensing the mischief that lay ahead, agreed to customise the system’s vJam video and image playback software for portrait configuration so that one of a pool of girls from 30 special clips (and in one instance a male) appears to gaze disparagingly (sometimes with binoculars) at the male member. And for good measure, in the washroom area, above the vessel basins, are two LCD white Tilevision 23in waterproof TVs.

Out in the club are further 42in plasmas, a frenzy of neon and both suffused and strident LED effects as well as a Laser Electronics white light diode laser. All FX are under the command of a second ShowCAD Artist, as is the dynamic signage and video graphics, processed through a Hippotizer Express and displayed on the plasmas.

Sampson Associates’ creative use of Barrisol sails provides a striking feature over the dancefloor, and as with the giant satellite rings, are illuminated by Malham Lighting Design Pastel Line LED tubes, which provide an RGB and white (4-channel) pastel colour mix - all run off preset programmes stored in ShowCAD. The DJ/VJ can ‘play’ the lighting via an Edirol PCR-M50 MIDI keyboard.

Various atmospheric additions were provided by Karl Tahir, Technical Design Director of Optime Lighting, who worked closely to the design specs of Sampson Associates to provide the recessed down lighting and exterior lighting of the venue. Optime also designed and manufactured many of the fittings including a series of polished chrome Spider Pendants and a range of luxurious silk pendants with chrome detail for the bar at the dance floor area.

Meanwhile, a pair of Pioneer DVJ-1000s are linked to a MIDI-compatible Edirol V4 video mixer which takes composite and S-Video source inputs. All source switching takes place through the Kramer VS162V matrix. Aside from the enormous routing flexibility and the ability to pixel-map it means the effects can be played in real time.

Two Studio Due Shark 150’s and six Shark 250’s scatter beams around the periphery, while six Martin Wizard Extremes dominate the dancefloor, along with 10 x Martin MX10s, eight Martin MAC 250 Entours and four Atomic strobes, brought to life by a Martin Clubsmoke system. Cheesey decorative effects include edge neon and numerous mirrorballs.

A pair of old school Technics SL1210s sit alongside a set of the futuristic, pod-mounted Pioneer DVJ-1000 DVD/CD decks, while the venue VJ/DJ has the satisfaction of Allen & Heath’s flagship XONE:92 mixer, delivering the sound source to carefully positioned, KV2 dancefloor speakers. All EQ and compression thresholds are stored in a pair of Soundweb London BLU-80s and a BLU-32 expander.

Six wall-mounted KV2 EPAK 2500S amplifiers optimise the performance of four KV2 ES1.0 mid/highs’s, four ES1.8 (horn-loaded single 18in), four ES2.5s (double 15in), while active KV2 EX-10’s form the surround along with Vieta Do Series loudspeakers.

Facing each other across the dancefloor are two elite zones. Sampson Associates designed the five white leather pods (complete with funky metal pendants created by Optime) which can be booked for £100, which includes a complimentary bottle of Laurent Perrier champagne and free admission. Opposite, Sampson have created exotic Middle Eastern partitionable ‘Boudoir’, with rolls and tie-blinds, lacking only shisha pipes for true authenticity.

At either end are two of the most striking bars you are likely to see. Shea Properties sat on their secret for three years after seeing them (and commissioning them) in Poland. The pre-wired, stainless steel units contain an interactive marble front (which can be manually activated) and toughened, crackle-glaze glass top, brought to life by two colour-changing edge-lit LEDs and a dimmable fluorescent tube behind the bar. The bars dictate the whole look of a venue in which much of the flooring is stainless steel, and both the reception desk and DJ console are clad in polished chrome.

Shea Properties have been rewarded for their vision and will feel that this is £2.5m well spent. General manager Anita Freeman-Ballard, who had worked at another Shea Properties venue (Storm in Southend), says that it has quickly captured the imagination of the local clientele. The double toilets are one of many talking points and the fact that the Roederer Cristal Rosé (at £425) is already moving out of the cellars shows they are hitting the right aspirational crowd.

Words: Alex Eyre
Images: Jim Ellam

From: February 2007 Issue

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