Hong Kong American Club gets presidential treatment from ASCL
Published: ASIA
HONG KONG: Established in 1925, the American Club in Hong Kong started out as small gatherings of ex-pats socialising and exchanging business views. Today, its large membership is divided into two very different locations, for which its Tai Tam Country Club, set on 3.5 acres overlooking the South China Sea, offers more outdoor recreational pastimes. The newly renovated Town Club, occupying the upper levels of Exchange Square in Central, is set up for business meetings, events and social gatherings. As such, Kowloon-based systems integrator ASCL was contracted to install a complete A/V solution throughout the 48th level phase one development.
Working closely with consultant IHD, Audio System Consultants (Asia) Ltd (ASCL) was asked to sensitively integrate the loudspeakers, screens and video systems into the very fabric of the Club without distracting its rich architectural settings and furnishings. Consisting of a bar, restaurant, ballroom, VIP Presidents’ room and four meeting rooms, ASCL achieved the Club’s goals between April and September 2015. Crestron AV3 lies at the heart of the control system, allowing operability of all the A/V functions, lighting and digital signage via an iPad in addition to fixed touchscreens.
The divisible ballroom offers a breath-taking vista of Hong Kong Harbour and is perfect for hosting high society functions. A Tannoy ceiling speaker system comprising of 17 CMS803DC ceiling speakers powered by QSC Audio CX108 and CX204 amplifiers provide the audio for BGM and speech. Shure ULXD4 wireless microphones have been provided, whilst the DSP settings throughout the Club are stored in a single QSC Audio Q-Sys Core 250i processor. A Q-Sys TSC-3 touchpanel provides the manager in Billy’s Bar with the ability to control the source and levels as required.
Whilst the bar, restaurant and gymnasium areas are served by Tannoy CVS6 and CMS803DC ceiling speakers, the more intimate meeting rooms and Presidents’ room have been installed with Sonance Invisible Series ceiling speakers to deliver ambient music that emanates with no visual footprint. As the interior designer insisted on no overhead projection, two motorised 60-inch TV’s have been integrated into the window ledge and wall panel for activation as required depending on the particular room orientation. A Tascam SS-R100 recorder has also been added into this VIP room as an optional aid should a meeting need to be transcribed.
Video inputs from cameras, media and Blu-ray players on the 48th floor are fed into an Extron DTP HDMI 330 long distance HDMI twisted extender, before being routed to the various projection screens and TVs, having been passed through scalers, extenders and switchers ensuring HD image resolution. With three upper levels in the making, this discretely designed A/V system within the American Club is now equipped to host events that are fit for a President.