Mansion nightclub re-opens on South Beach with new layout, new sound and light system

Well, that didn’t take very long.

Mansion nightclub (1235 Washington Ave., Miami Beach), which closed its doors last week, will re-open on Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21 – complete with a new logo, new floor layout, and a new audio and video system.

And to kick things off, Deadmau5 will be playing exclusive sets of his Unhooked show on both nights – something rarely seen on Miami Beach but indicative of the bar Mansion plans to set (or in this case re-set) with its new look.

The venue has reconfigured and upgraded all systems to celebrate DJs as rockstars, utilizing technology culled from top concert stage shows around the world. Even the familiar block-M logo has changed, emphasizing the thousands of LED lights that will play a major role in the club-goer’s new experience.

“When we redesigned Level into Mansion we added the arches and the red and gold colors and made it feel regal,” Eric Milon, partner with The Opium Group, told us at a private walkthrough of the space. “Now we are more about the lighting and the visual and we are going back to being about the music. We have always been cutting edge at Mansion, but now DJs are like rock stars. And people have enough choices here on Miami Beach, so we want to give them a great show.”

 

Mansion’s interior has been completely reconfigured and updated with fashion-inspired themes, including black leather and white silk tufted walls, high gloss lacquer woodwork, animal print sofas, and Fuchsia shaded chandeliers, all designed to visually compliment Mansion’s new lighting scheme.

A new layout puts the DJ booth, dance floor, table seating, and VIP in new locations throughout the venue.

 

The DJ booth takes center stage as part of Mansion’s new Mansion 360 marketing theme – smack in the middle of the room – allowing revelers to experience the show from any vantage point. A VIP section backs up the DJ booth, complete with private bar and ample table seating. (This was the area that previously housed the iconic arches – now it’s all open and unobstructed). Mansion’s performance stage – where the DJ booth used to be located – can be transformed into an elevated VIP section, configured for full stage shows and Cirque du Soleil style productions, and can house a second DJ booth for possible DJ battles, which Milon was excited about. (Can you imagine that during Winter Music Conference?)

“Some clubs you can go to over and over, but you still want something new and something that can really impress,” Milon said.

Something that is bound to impress is the multi-million dollar lighting upgrade that focuses dual illuminated tubing and the ability to do three dimensional effect lighting, making Mansion the first nightclub in the country to provide 360 degrees of multi-dimensional imagery. Every single surface of the venue – from the tufted walls to the high ceilings – features LED capability, so designs and images and words and logos can end up anywhere. Other features include a sky cam that can shoot celebrities, DJs and revelers from overhead and project them on any screen in the venue as seen on stadium jumbotrons.

Making Mansion’s 40,000 square-foot space sound good is an upgrade in their Funktion One sound system to bring the system well over 100,000 watts in power. 

“Mansion’s newly configured sound system is an ideal balance between accuracy in reproduction and high energy output,” Funktion One/Sound Investment’s Todd Konecny said. “Flying the bass speakers makes the system full range in the air while the subwoofers beneath the stage are in close proximity to the money seats and main dance floor.”

Milon hopes the experience at Mansion will be more like a rock concert than a nightclub, with the mix of new audio and visual technology creating a new sensory experience unlike any in Miami and helping set the 7-year-old club apart from the rest.

“There is competition now and you have to be on your toes. It’s a good thing,” Milon said. “It was time for a change. After five years we knew it was time to look at everything. We asked ourselves what do we want to do, but when something is going good, why fix it? However, you still have to be innovative and think of the customers who keep coming back.

“It’s like looking at the same beautiful girl over and over, and eventually you want to dress her with a new outfit.”

MANSION 360 – AUDIO / VISUAL SPECS:

(For all you tech heads)

Using 675 meters of dual illuminated custom acrylic diffused tubes, Mansion’s custom ceiling has the ability to do three dimensional lighting effects along the art deco peninsula made up of 21,600 RGB pixels. Along the ceiling’s center cove are 3600 1.5 watt RGB crystal diffused pendants, which together span 48’ X 60’ in dimension. To control these two items alone, is a Madrix Ultimate system, which drives 144 universes of DMX sectored by 19 Data Gates.

 

Accentuating 360 degrees of Mansion’s 40,000 square foot interior walls are 180 1.5 watt RGB crystal diffused pendants that accentuate wall finishes, and 400 meters of cove lighting placed between each panel yet each pixel is independently controllable. Show lighting alone features 20 Elation platinum 5R Beams, 4 Elation Design Beams 300 and 4 Coemar stage Light Blinders. Mansion’s stage features two grand high resolution 7mm pitch LED viewing screens measuring 9′ X 10′ and contain 122,800 pixels per screen, as well as 50 20 mm pitch Elation 1024 flat and curved LED panels, and 6 Elation P06 flat panels 6 mm pitch LED creating 73,728 pixels. In short, every square inch of Mansion’s surfaces can be custom lit and controlled to play off the shows taking place.

 

Mansion also now features a premiere Funktion One sound system that has been recently upgraded and reconfigured. F1’s new F221 dual 21” subwoofers have been added under the stage on vibration platforms and F218 dual 18” subwoofers have been flown in clusters with the F1 Res4 mid/high speakers to further extend their  range.  Powersoft amplifiers have also been added to bring the system well over 100,000 watts.

This story was originally published January 17, 2012 at 4:01 AM.