North Shore classic The Stoned Crow has been born again, taken over by the team behind Bondi Pizza.

The bar has been reincarnated with a ‘back to nature’ vibe following five months of preening. It’s now a stylish meeting place with cosy nooks, mood lighting and faux animal hides on the floor and covering the low stools. The front windows open the bar to the street, giving an airy feel that’s so different to the smoky, dark bar it was twenty years ago.

Giant Design were in charge of the complete refurbishment of the front of house areas of a ground floor pub/bar with a site size of 306m2.

Giant Design’s client was a new owner of a long established and much loved pub in Crows Nest. It had been popular in the 80’s & 90’s but lost its charm when it was refurbished around eight years ago. With the charm went the punters, and it ended up failing to rebuild its clientele.

The new owners wanted to bring back the feeling of an old-school pub, with a sense of history and warmth to the space, but also wanted to add to the mix a feeling of being outside. They wanted a space that would bring people back to the Crow, and give the North Shore the kind of venue the Eastern Suburbs is saturated with: all on a limited budget, but with maximum impact.

The concept that pulled everything together really came from the name of the venue; it was too good to ignore. Giant Design tried to envisage the kind of place a ‘Stoned Crow’ might be found. They figured some sort of tropical seaside locale, almost Caribbean, with etched timbers, an outdoor feel, and filled with the kinds of things a craggy old sailor might have collected on his travels, or that might have washed ashore.

Giant Design wanted to use concrete breeze-blocks in a way that hadn’t been seen before, mixing up the different patterns available to create something more random and interesting. What they hadn’t counted on though, was that the three standard shapes of the blocks were never designed to tessellate together, and there were no standard proportions. This left their bricklayers in a bit of a quandary as to how to set out mortar joints and ensure they fit the entire screens within the joinery perimeters. They managed to set their mind at ease though, with some thorough planning, dry runs of each of the screen walls, and some freedom in the grout joints, the last of which shook our brickie a bit. They were all extremely happy with the final outcome.

The Constant Group were responsible for the audio design in the venue opting for a JBL speaker package that includes the new JBL-Control 62P satellite pendant speakers. The speakers are powered by two Crown XLS1000 amplifiers, two Crown CDi1000 amplifiers and a Crown 280A amplifier.

“The idea was to have a great restaurant feel with high quality sound in the background,” explained Con Constantinou, managing director of The Constant Group. “However, the venue needed to easily adapt to a chic bar with a relaxed feel as the evening progresses creating a great atmosphere. At the same time we had to take into consideration that it will also be used for private functions and allow for DJ integration.”

The challenge for The Constant Group was to ensure that all areas of the venue were covered with quality sound, but at the same time they needed to guarantee that the sound did not spill out the front bi-fold windows thus affecting the residential complex built above it.

Four JBL-Control 24 in-ceiling speakers are installed into the entry area. Four JBL-Control 25AV loudspeakers and JBL-Control50 compact subwoofer service the front dining area with the same set up used in the middle area near the bar. A couple of JBL-Control 25AV loudspeakers are installed into the front lounge area.

Four JBL-Control 62P satellite pendant speakers and a JBL-Control50 compact subwoofer, feed the front of the bar area.

“The JBL-Control 62P satellite pendant speakers are hanging from the ceiling in front of the bar area and are great fill in speakers,” commented Con. “They still allow the bar staff to hear patron’s orders but at the same time, they deliver high quality sound into the area at lower levels than the rest of the area. The Control 62P satellite pendant speakers also fit in amazingly and the designer was extremely impressed with not only the look of them but how well they compliment the lighting at the front of the bar area.

“The Control 25AV and the Control50 sub also fit in with the design and do not detract from the design features throughout.”

Even though it’s not a large venue, The Constant Group have designed the system so that they have full control of all seven zones with pre-programmed modes. This ensures that the correct levels are used throughout the day along with automatic dropping of the volume in the evening for the front zone to ensure that music doesn’t spill onto the street, through the bi fold doors. All this takes place using aBLU10 with programmed modes, ensuring that users can’t just pick whatever level of music they feel like at the time.

The two lounge areas needed a cosy and comfortable level of music, which was also achieved by having the separate control over all zones.

All this is controlled by the BSS-BLU 100 signal processors and the BLU10 touch screen networked remote control panel located at easy reach behind the bar.

“The end result is fantastic sound and an extremely happy client, with the system meeting and exceeding all their expectations,” concluded Con.