Circular
canopies from Armstrong Ceilings help reduce noise levels by 50% in
The Living Lab - the first PizzaExpress restaurant acoustically
designed to support having good conversations.
Eighty of Armstrong’s Optima canopies, similar to those used in the
Royal Albert Hall, hang from the restaurant ceiling. They absorb and
reflect sound, creating a far more peaceful, comfortable environment
for diners. The circular, sound-absorbent panels were specially
printed in pastel colours to match the colour scheme of The Living
Lab.
PizzaExpress set themselves the challenge of reinventing their
restaurants for a new era (http://futureexpress.co.uk/) and
experimented with just about everything, from design and acoustics
to service and food.
They wanted to step back and consider how to create stimulating
spaces, acoustically designed to support having good conversations.
Their mission? Not simply to continue to serve great pizza, but to
help feed great conversations – something that’s always been at the
heart of the brand – by creating an engaging, versatile environment
that would work well for families in the daytime and everyone else
at night.
In homage to the spirit of creative collaboration that PizzaExpress
founder Peter Boizot took when he opened his first restaurant in
Soho in 1965, a talented group of creative thinkers were brought
together to conceive the new generation PizzaExpress.
Led by visionary designer Ab Rogers, the team included Italian
chefs, a theatre director, a professor of acoustics, the co-founder
of www.mumsnet.com, a DJ, a conversation expert and a fashion
designer.
At the Richmond restaurant, the 80 Armstrong circular canopies,
which echo the shape of the tables and of the pizzas being served,
were installed by Atlas Refurbishment (Northern) at varying angles,
levels and orientations to disguise services.
The metal frame in the back of the mineral canopies, which absorb
sound on the front and on the back, is fixed via aircraft wire to
the soffit and is robust enough to allow lights and speakers to be
integrated into the panels, making them even more multi-functional.
They have been used in conjunction with domes specially designed by
Professor of Acoustics Sergio Luzzi, and designer Dominic Robson
which hang over red-leather dining booths and are designed to take
out noise.
These parabolic booths act like mini recording studios, absorbing
sound to create intimate acoustic chambers. The domes deflect
background noise and contain interior noise, creating a perfect
environment for conversation. Diners can also adjust their own
personal sound and lighting levels. The reverberation time of sound
inside the booths has been reduced by 50%.
Carrie Longton, co-founder of www.mumsnet.com and part of the
creative team behind The Living Lab, said: “Lots of people said
PizzaExpress traditionally was quite noisy, all that marble, all
those tiled floors. Anything that can help with those acoustics is
really good.”
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