Daniel J SaitRibble AV undertook a fantastic project, developing the AV and automation systems at The White Horse in the popular coastal town of Cromer, North Norfolk. KNX, Artcoustic, Control4 and Anthem all contributed to the transformation of this much-loved local attraction.
While the prize for Best Commercial Integration Project at the recent Smart Building Awards was claimed by Snap One for the Joali Being Resort, we must confess a real soft spot for this excellent project by Ribble AV, particularly as it was the company’s first fully commercial project and has led to more work for the same customer.
Tom Helm, Managing Director of Ribble AV, explained in his award entry: “The White Horse is a bar and restaurant in Cromer, Norfolk. It has just undergone a significant refurbishment after one of our residential clients purchased it. We were approached to provide lighting and HVAC control, audio, video distribution, a network with guest access, and CCTV.”
The brief from the client was that the operation had to be simple enough for any staff member to use. All of the tech needed to complement the high-end interior and deliver visually discreet, high-quality audio, but without excessive volume due to complaints from a disgruntled neighbour who had already filed complaints with the council. Don’t you just hate it when people move next door to a pub and then complain about living next door to a pub! The system also needed to accommodate and distribute the feeds from two Sky boxes to three screens.
Tom says, “After seeing the renders of the interior design and the amount of glass on the ceiling, we knew we had to select some form of on-wall speakers. Therefore, Artcoustic seemed the obvious choice because their speaker design fit the space perfectly. Working with our partners at Artcoustic and being aware of the noise constraints, we specified 16 Evolve 1 speakers and 6 Sub Z subwoofers (hidden in bench seating) across the restaurant and bar, which are the smallest speakers in their range.
“We powered these with an Anthem MDX-16 so that we had simple control and audio switching. We could also rely on ARC room correction to achieve the best possible sound. Overall, the end result for the audio ticks all the boxes for delivering great, consistent sound wherever you are seated in the restaurant and definitely looks the part!”
Tom adds, “We also installed a pair of ceiling speakers in the bathrooms that play audiobooks; this was an unusual request that worked extremely well. All streaming is handled by Sonos Ports, as they integrate perfectly with the venue’s licensed music streaming subscription.
“We knew that the TVs in this venue would be off more than on due to the restaurant setting, so we specified Samsung Frame TVs that display seaside-themed artwork throughout the day. Distribution is handled by an HDA MHUB.”
With over 50 circuits of lighting, five zones of heating, and a zone of air conditioning throughout the venue, KNX was a strong choice as the backbone of much of the project. All LED strip circuits were handled with DALI to keep things simple and ensure smooth dimming.
Tom explains, “We provided the staff with four editable scenes for different times of day and events, which are operated from a back-of-house keypad or bar Control4 touch panel. However, with the client wanting super simple control of everything for the potentially high turnover of staff, we utilised contact closure outputs from the alarm panel straight into the KNX system. This means that when the first member of staff opens up and disarms the alarm, all the lights and music are turned on, and everything switches off when the last member leaves and sets the alarm. Therefore, the staff only need to manage the music source, volume, and TV channels.”
Challenges arose not just from the technical demands of the project, but from logistics as well. Tom reveals, “With the project being so far away in Norfolk (we are based in Preston), it made sense to choose products that we fully understand and know will just work. Hence the use of KNX for all the BMS and lighting, Ruckus for networking, Control4 for control, Anthem for amplification, and HDA for video distribution. We also ensured we had multiple ways to remotely access the system via router VPN, KNX VPN using a Gira S1, and Control4 OVRC.”
Tom concludes, “I’m confident we fully met our client’s brief and even surpassed expectations with the final outcome. The bar is open seven days a week, and we’ve had zero teething problems since opening. The client has now bought another bar, Bernie’s in Cromer, and has already instructed us to carry out all the works on that one as well. This is a testament to the success of this project.
“Overall, this was an incredible project to be involved with, and it was our first full commercial project. It certainly wasn’t easy, and blood, sweat, and tears went into it, but I couldn’t be prouder of how the finished result turned out and the level of installation we achieved, with all work being carried out in-house by our small team of four. Ultimately, our scope was really quite vast, and I believe our hard work and excellent results deserve recognition.”
Essential Kit List
16 x Artcoustic Evolve 1 speakers
6 x Artcoustic sub Z subwoofers
3 x Artcoustic PDA1000 amplifiers
Anthem MDX-16
2 x pairs of Sonance Mariner 64
2 x KEF Ci160CRds
6 x Ruckus R550 access points
Theben and Zennio KNX actuators
Gira Pushsensor 4 keypad
HDA MHUB 4×4 100A
Control4 CORE3
Control4 10” T4 touch panel
Control4 Halo remote