Soho Works and Tateside support simplification of Zoom Room standard across multiple venues – rAVe (PUBS)

Soho Works is a global network of workspaces, created by the prestigious Soho House Group. Providing modern, collaborative workspaces for individuals and businesses, Soho Works has a total of four sites in prime locations across London. Tateside’s AV and IT specialists, also based in the capital, recently led the AV technology upgrades across several sites.

“Tateside has been the preferred technology partner for Soho Works London sites for several years now,” says Jack Cornish, Tateside’s CTO. “Prior to the pandemic, the technology didn’t need to be video conferencing-centric, but the working environment has since changed and the client requested an upgrade that would allow for better BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and plug-and-play capabilities as well as a system that could support their preferred Zoom Room functionality.”

With a high-end interior design and careful attention to maintaining a clean aesthetic across all sites, Tateside needed to honour the unique identity of Soho Works’ various sites whilst deploying a solution that could be replicated to deliver a consistent user experience across the brand’s workspaces.

“Our team is responsible for the IT and technology integration of Soho Works,” explains Cornish. “The new standard for meeting rooms is a Neat Bar Pro set housed in a Leon Tonecase to hide the technology and enhance the overall aesthetic of the room, along with a Samsung display. This standard has been rolled out to all Soho Works meeting rooms, based on a Zoom Room system, with adjustments made for specific locations.”

The chosen Neat Bar Pro package delivers crystal clear audio through three full-range speakers while the advanced microphone array ensures clear voice pickup, with Neat Audio Processing built in. With the wide-angle lens and image depth sensor, Neat Bar Pro can detect, magnify and track all participants in the room, resulting in more realistic engagement during video meetings. Additionally, seamless integration with Zoom made a Neat Bar standard the ideal solution for the Soho Works project.

Ashton Bentley’s USB-C hubs, which can be neatly mounted under desks, are integrated to support network connectivity and ensure fast device charging. The Neat Bar Pro pack offers integrated camera and microphone functions as well as a Neat Pad for easy room control. Each venue required slightly different setups and solutions for the other styles of room, including a podcast studio at the Dean Street venue and subdivided meeting rooms at 180 The Strand.

“Overall, Soho Works aims for systems that are easy to use with minimal technical knowledge,” Cornish continues. “In these recent updates, we’ve completely removed the Crestron controls for input switching and implemented a hassle-free standard with automatic switching and rock-solid BYOD connectivity.”

“Working with Soho House Group is always a great experience,” concludes Cornish. “Finding the balance between functionality and aesthetics can be a challenge, but with Neat’s solutions combined with our bespoke integration, Soho Works now has an easy-to-use and scalable setup that is fit for the modern workplace.”