Amina speakers help to transform boutique hotel

Upstairs Downstairs

Bingham Hotel Image Gallery

The Bingham, one of the leading boutique hotels in London, marries the sumptuous surroundings of Georgian Grand House with state of the art technology for their guests.  When they needed a 21st century AV for their “garden rooms”, to serve both private and corporate clients, and at the same time provide a design sympathetic solution in the Georgian Style Bar, they solved a multiple of problems with one selection - Amina’s invisible plaster-in loudspeakers.

Upstairs

At the heart of the Bingham is the bar. Its’ 18th century high ceilings and cornices blend with an understated art deco décor to provide an air of relaxed sophistication. Integral to the welcoming atmosphere is the discrete use of music.

“At the Bingham, we believe a lounge bar should be a place to relax, enjoy a drink, and unwind in front of the fireplace. The room is the star, and we wanted a solution that was sympathetic to the Georgian features, be minimalist, but deliver superb sound quality”, said Isador Gorgevik, manager of the Hotel.

Plastered in the ceiling

But when it came to upgrading the hotels AV system they wanted a solution that would give room filling Audio but not detract from the room’s elegance.  Soundceilings, who specialize in Av for the Hospitality Trade, identified that two Amina AIW 5 80 watt plaster-in-wall speakers located into the ceiling would seamlessly deliver the sound without a blemish. As the name suggests the loudspeakers are installed, plastered over and, once decorated, are invisible.

How do they work?

Unlike traditional pistonic loud speakers, Amina speakers work in the same way as natural musical instruments do, such as the acoustic guitar or piano, the vibration created in the body of the instrument product the sound. Rather than strings, in these speakers excitation drivers set up tiny vibrations (you can feel them, but you cannot see them) in the soundpanel. These transfer from the soundpanel through the plaster, and paint or wallpaper that is placed on top of it, and then excite air molecules at the surface. These then excite other air molecules and so on until the sound reaches our ears.

The Amina Loudspeakers’ ability to become invisible offers enormous opportunities where you want a modern loudspeaker system but want to support and enhance the character of a room: be it a 1700’s period house such as the Bingham or a modern minimalist design. But the story doesn’t end there…

Downstairs

The popularity of the hotel had driven demand for an events space. This area would need to carry through the subtle interior but must also be able to hold its’ own with any central London hotel. But with all the rooms already allocated or in use this seemed unlikely.   However, the proprietor Samantha Trinder adroitly identified several unused storerooms at garden level that could be converted. And thus the “Garden Rooms” where born.

The plan was that this large, low ceiling, area was to be developed into three flexible interconnecting rooms which, when opened into one large space, caters for up to 90 seated and 150 standing. With an international reputation for stunning interiors and an elegant ambience the new complex had to meet high standards.

Invisible with no visible footprint

The first issue to address was space. As a converted basement store the ceilings were low. Loudspeakers jutting into the room would create discord with the design and feel of the room, whether consciously or subliminally.  Amina’s unique Plaster In-wall loudspeakers once again came up trumps.

The Amina speakers were installed into the ceiling plastered over and once decorated, were invisible as well as having no ingress into the room space. The install was simple. An opening in the ceiling was made and the speakers were mounted within this opening. Then they were skimmed over with 1-2mm plaster skim. The plaster let dry and then the ceiling was decorated. The process is just as simple for solid walls or dry-lining.

Paint or wallpaper over

For the Bingham this was the ideal solution.  Not only do they have a sound source that disappears seamlessly into a wall or ceiling but it can be painted or wallpapered over.  The interior designers were delighted as this gave them free reign to decorate, took up zero space and provided superb sound quality.

An added bonus

As explained earlier the unique way Amina loudspeakers work has many advantages.  One is that the sound created evolves from many parts of the soundboard making it very diffuse. This means that with Amina: there is less echo, and any sound reflection is positive rather than destructive – adding to the sound not diminishing it. This makes them ideal for “acoustically reflective environments” i.e. low ceilings of the Garden Rooms.

A further benefit for the Bingham was the unique way that Amina Loudspeakers generate sound. These speakers create a high definition sound field over a very wide area. This results in the sound energy being far less directional and so it fills spaces far more evenly.  The sound sweeps through the room and the hot and cold spots normally associated with traditional pistonic ceiling speakers are significantly reduced while the detail of higher frequencies is retained.

Steve Bristo from Soundceilings comments. “Many of the audio issues the development threw up were solved by installing Amina Plaster In-Wall speakers. This has resulted in fruitful use of space and an AV system that has flexibility to treat each room as a separate entity as well as one large space”.

“In each of the three function rooms in the “Garden Suite” we installed a pair of Amina AIW 3 40 Watt speakers in ceilings.” Steve continued, “This meant that each room could have its own audio or could be fed from one source. A Soundceiling system was installed in the ballroom to give a high sound volume dance floor.

The special attributes of the Plaster In-wall speakers have been employed through the rest of the garden level complex. Sound from the central system is fed through to Aminas located in the corridor ceilings to ensure guests still feel part of the party, even as they move around the building.

The attention to detail is carried through to the restrooms where Aminas are plastered into the ceiling to ensure that the sleek black chic minimalist interior is maintained, and the patrons don’t miss a beat.  And as they are protected by a layer of plaster are no concerns over moisture ingress or damage!!

At the Bingham, what started out as a search for a loudspeaker solution to be inconspicuous in the Georgian style bar turned out to be a revelation that helped the disused basement transform into vibrant multifaceted function rooms. But the real winners are the guests who enjoy a flexible 21st century AV experience without disturbing the interior design that this hotel is renowned for.

In the SoundunseenTM Plaster-In-Wall loudspeakers range there are three options: AIW1 20 watt speakers, AIW3 40watt speakers and the AIW5 80 watt speakers making a solution for every location and budget from bedrooms and bathrooms to busy bars and big rooms.

All speakers are sized at 450mm x 345mm x 40mm to fit between the standard studs in modern drywalling and beams in ceilings.