Case Study:
The Goring

CGA Case Study - The Goring - Exterior

Outline

The Goring Hotel was opened by Otto Goring in 1910 and is now one of the few luxury properties in London to be owned and run by the family that built it. The five-red-AA-star hotel’s flagship restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2016 and has been led by executive chef Graham Squire since August 2019.

CGA worked with the Goring in 2019 when the hotel’s ground floor was redesigned with a fully refurbished bar and lounge area. CGA, alongside British designer Russell Sage, designed and installed an audio system to further enhance the intimate experience guests receive when visiting The Goring, including a new development for the provision of live music in The Goring Bar. The audio provision was further extended by CGA, after the pandemic lockdowns, to include The Terrace.

CGA has recently returned to The Goring Hotel to design and install the sound system in The Dining Room restaurant as part of a multimillion-pound redesign, overseen by Russell Sage Studio, which has an “opulent aesthetic” that honours the history of the hotel.

Challenges

In 2019 the hotel remained open to their discerning guests throughout the installation of the audio system. As a result, CGA had to take great care to ensure minimum disruption both visually and practically whilst still ensuring installation to the highest standards.

Audio hardware had to blend seamlessly with the design throughout. The Goring acknowledged the need for a quality sound system alongside superlative design, to complement award-winning cuisine and customer service and create an exceptional dining experience. However, the audio had to be delivered as invisibly as possible. CGA exerted great care to determine the best locations for speakers to ensure minimum visual impact.

Technical

CGA designed and installed an audio system which is split into four separate zones; the bar, the lounge, the Veranda and the terrace, enabling both seamless audio flow across the ground floor of the hotel as well as flexibility between distinct areas.

Wall and ceiling mounted speakers were finished to a RAL colour and mounted within the decorative finishes, to blend with the interior design in both the bar and lounge areas. In addition, these speakers were supported by bass units hidden within the bar and under furniture to ensure a fuller sound was created with minimum visual impact.

The nature of the Veranda meant that in-wall speakers were fitted around the space, with ceiling speaker installation where required, to ensure full audio coverage. The terrace uses discrete speakers laid out within the garden foliage, set with limits and timers to prevent issues with The Goring’s valued neighbours.

Located in the ceiling beams, the speakers in The Dining Room restaurant are finished to a RAL colour and disappear into the decor without casting shadows with the new lighting system.

Local control is from an in-room touch panel that allows immediate level adjustment but also has pre-programmed level presets and a scheduler for normal trading.

On returning to add audio to The Dining Room restaurant, CGA were able to use spare capacity on the existing sound processor which feeds the previously installed areas of the hotel, and added a further music zone to the existing music player. This ensured quality sound was delivered as cost-effectively as possible, without the need for further hardware to be purchased.

Response

Michael Voigt, Managing Director commented “It was imperative that the audio system installed by CGA blended visually with the interior design created by Russell Sage and reflected the quality of everything we deliver for our guests here at The Goring. Chris and his team have worked hard to successfully achieve this result.”

Chris Gunton, Managing Director of CGA Integration commented “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work with both The Goring and once again with Russell Sage to be part of these inspiring projects at such an iconic venue.”