The Rutland, Edinburgh

Sakura

Edinburgh

The Rutland

venues, August 2008, COMMENTS

Edinburgh’s beauty is undeniable. It’s the type of place, similar to New York, that is as wonderful on a sharp, crisp, winter’s morning, as it is in the fully blown glory of the summer – when it decides to show its face that is. The depth and drama of the architecture is disproportionate to the size of the city, which is split into the New Town and Old Town and shadowed by the imposing presence of Edinburgh Castle. The combination of its bearing history and events like The Edinburgh Festival make the Scottish capital a hub of tourists, artists, travellers, business people and locals, all there for different reasons but pulled by the same force.

The Rutland Hotel is something of an institution in the city, prominently placed at the west end head of Princes St, at a corner position passed by commuters heading down one of five adjacent streets. Princes St is the only unbroken stretch of the city gifted with panoramic views of the castle’s front, making it the perfect vicinity for a multi-functional venue, such as The Rutland. But several years of misadventure and lack of investment had left it short of its true potential.

When Signature Pubs finally got its hands on the venue, a turnaround story began which culminated in the official launch party on 23 July of a venue that now oozes style, sophistication and finesse. Nic Wood, director, who has had a ‘from the ground up’ education in the licensed trade, is in little doubt about the importance of the Rutland’s location, as he explains: “To be honest, it’s an iconic site, you’re not going to get another one like it in Edinburgh, it’s kind of the one place that everyone knows in the city and the footfall past it is just fantastic.” So is it the best site in Edinburgh? “Location wise, probably, yeah,” adds Nic.

Signature Pubs has steadily built a portfolio of five venues since its inception in 2003. The most recent launch, prior to The Rutland, was the reworking of Brecks on Rose St, which was transformed into stylish operation, Element. It was during this period that Nic became acquainted with the work of Tibbatts Kirk Abel (TKA) and struck up a relationship with Adam Tibbatts, earmarking the proposed Rutland project as the perfect opportunity to fully explore TKA’s proven capabilities.

Adam says: “It was clear when undergoing this project that Nic has great taste, and this was key. During the briefing process, we looked at various sites around the UK as reference houses with both operation and aesthetics in mind. There were elements that we had to take into consideration such as standing bar space on the ground floor for rugby weekends, whilst maintaining a versatile offer to suit a chameleon product.”

The amalgam of designer, operator and main contractor is a stunning boutique hotel offering 12 individual, bespoke rooms, restaurant on the first floor, bar on the ground and a sub-ground space branded as The One Below. Each level presents a completely different option for the customer and this diversity bodes well for Signatures’ aspirations for being a one-stop shop of sorts.

Main Contractors, GF Interiors had impressed Signature with its last minute step-in on the Element project, where, from a standing start, the job was completed in five weeks and crucially, in time for the beginning of the festival. Nic explains why GF were chosen for The Rutland: “GF came in last minute at Element and did a fantastic job and they were in the bidding for this. There were four companies, GF shaved off about 16 weeks on what anyone else could do it in. In fairness it ran over by four weeks but that’s still 12 weeks quicker than anyone else proposed – that wasn’t their fault; from building, planning, to arranging, to get a crane in the busiest street in Edinburgh - they’ve done a fantastic job and I can’t fault them.”

GF Interiors’ philosophy focuses on getting the client trading again as soon as possible, weighting what perhaps could be a higher costing against the turnover of a fully functional venue. Darren Atkinson, GF’s sales & marketing manager explains: “We don’t sell ourselves as being the cheapest in the country but if you get a client [like Signature Pubs] who’s sensible enough to take into account the revenue that can be made from being in the completed unit earlier; we could be the dearest on paper for the fit out, but the cheapest if you take all the costs into account.”

Drawing ‘inspiration from everywhere’, TKA’s Adam Tibbatts has created real depth to the venue’s design by treating each space objectively; whilst maintaining coherence where necessary. Each hotel room, for example, is designed differently, yet similarities uphold the desired level of unity. The restaurant and bar are very different but agnate in terms of sophistication and class; the two spaces are bound together by a stunning decorative glass pendant that descends from the ceiling of the first floor to hang as a central feature on the ground floor.

The bar level has been afforded a light, airy feel by the cream ceiling. High cream stools are mixed with patterned fixed seating of browns and grey that complement the dark wood finishes and the rich, Parquet floor. The bar itself is both traditional and contemporary; the dark wood front and bar top are given a modern twist by the ceiling step, which comes down two tiers - infused with LED lighting.
As the bar turns away from the main entrance, the floor steps up to a more enclosed section, which is given character by the cowhide, low seating and decorative wallpaper. A booth table flanked by brown leather bench seating, overhung by a gothic-like chandelier, tucks in behind the bar, offering one of many seating options on this floor.

Tibbatts Kirk Abel has captured the Signature Pub Group’s ethos of ‘substance and style’, which is continued with a thoughtful drinks offering of specially selected wines, beers and spirits, freshly squeezed juices, fine coffees and a cocktail list custom designed by award-winning mixologists, Barnomadics.

Downstairs, The One Below offers up a completely different experience all together. The décor and technology is geared very much towards late night, although Nic was keen not to overdo noise levels, as he explains: “With the late lounge we didn’t want a loud booming club, we wanted something far more relaxed with personal service and somewhere you could kind of be pampered, hence why the music isn’t going to be so loud that you have to shout over it. We’ve concealed speakers in the ceiling and in the walls to remain as unobtrusive as possible but at the same time, give a good quality of sound.” With this in mind, TKA set about designing an intimate space with many intriguing aspects.
Amongst many technological highlights, undeniably the most momentous is the first UK installation of Mindstorm’s iBar, and on a scale far surpassing that recently showcased at BAR 08. Within this context the iBar is a masterstroke, as the design, while remaining true to the history of the building is given a sleek, late night aesthetic.

Light levels, by nature of the level being sub-ground, are low, which creates an environment that can be nurtured by different light sources. LED uplighters accentuate the beauty of the reclaimed, original stonework in the main area, while various sized booths have LED panelled back walls or illuminated champagne bucket tables, and then, of course, there is the iBar.

The iBar, for those not aware, is a bar-counter system with integrated video-projectors that can project any content on the milky bar-surface. The intelligent tracking system of iBar detects all objects touching the surface and this input is used to let the projected content interact dynamically with the movements on the counter. The result is stunning and an instant point of interest for customers - its effect will deepen as software develops over time.

Global Home Technologies, responsible for the audio installation, has fitted a sound system in the main body of the club, consisting of eighteen Audica Professional MICROline loudspeakers, driven by InOut DA-480 amplifiers and reinforced for low frequency by five Audica Professional MICROsubs.
The four VIP booths, available for group bookings also have their own dedicated Audica Professional MICROseries system for guests to listen to their own choice of music, with a MICROzone amplifier/controller driving two MICROpoint on-wall loudspeakers. Customers are provided with a WMR wall-mount remote control with 3.5mm jack socket providing input, source and level functions and additionally there is a dock for an iPod.

Style and quality were key aspects to the choice of loudspeakers at The Rutland. The ultra-compact on-wall MICROpoint and MICROline loudspeakers have discreet modern styling with unique integral fixing and the tiny MICROdot ceiling loudspeaker fits a standard mini-spotlight 85mm cut-out – yet all three offer well extended bandwidth down to 70Hz, critical for giving well-balanced sound when visitors are in close proximity to ‘satellite’ loudspeakers or when a system is needed to be full-range without subs.
The Rutland has benefited from the professionalism of each of the key contractors involved in its resurrection, but the productive nature of the relationship between Tibbatts Kirk Abel and Signature Pubs, and more specifically Adam Tibbatts and Nic Wood, has been fundamental to the lavish result. Nic sums it up: “Adam’s just keen as mustard, he’s doing fantastically well, he’s just all the time, every idea; you can’t fault him for his imagination. When you’re going around with him he’s talking about what this is, or what effect this finish has – great guy to work with.”

Words: Michael Nicholson

Images: Jim Ellam

From: August 2008 Issue

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