“At the heart of the Address Downtown Dubai hotel, Urla is a sophisticated dining experience with a distinctive coastal design concept that presents a menu of Aegean-inspired cuisine. The new restaurant brings a new level of chic to downtown Dubai. Named after the town of Urla, a gastronomical hub on Turkey’s West Coast, the new restaurant overlooks the famous Burj Khalifa and the spectacular Dubai Fountains. The outdoor destination matches coastal themed décor with the visual subtlety and beautiful clarity of an L-Acoustics X Series audio system.

Opened in November 2021, Urla was developed by the Q Food & Beverage Group, which was also instrumental in luxury dining destinations Huqqa, Huqqabaz and Gal. Local L-Acoustics Certified Provider Integrator, Levels Audio Visual has worked closely with the group to develop AV systems for all its concepts, and was brought in at the interior design phase of the project to provide a complete design, as well as to supply, install and service the latest project.

Urla is mainly an outdoor venue situated in a mixed-use area, so sound spill into neighbouring areas was a major consideration. To mitigate this, the audio system design ensures that most of the direct energy is focussed only into audience, minimising spill to neighbouring businesses.

“The client was also looking for a sleek looking loudspeaker that wouldn’t interfere with the beautiful decor of the restaurant and would still deliver the highest possible audio performance for guests,” says Hassan Alwan, Managing Partner at Levels. “L-Acoustics X Series was the perfect solution. We mainly used discreet5XT and X8 cabinets, which were complemented by the larger X12 in areas that required stronger coverage. The fact that X8 delivers sufficient low frequency performance also enabled us to use fewer subs throughout the venue. Where they are needed, we’ve used SB15m, SB18 and Syva Sub.”

Following the coastal theme, the venue is split into various areas on different levels, reflecting the gentle slope of a shoreline. The system is zoned to ensure that each area has its own discrete audio feed, with the outdoor and indoor areas forming the main zone demarcation.

The main entrance opens onto a shallow, sweeping staircase leading to the garden area of the restaurant, which is served by four X8 positioned on the rear wall, along with a floor mounted SB15m sub. From here, there is a step down to the main terrace where the dining area to the left features three X8 and an SB15m. The lounge, a step up to the right, benefits from a further three X8. Stepping down further to the bar, five X8 are suspended on custom made umbrella units, with two X12 adding extra power for the DJ booth with two SB18 subs for low end.

The indoor restaurant is served by nine wall-mounted 5XT and two floor mounted Syva Sub. “The compact format of 5XT was perfect for the restaurant where we wanted reduced visual impact,” explains Levels’ Daniel Ball. “In the outside areas where we had to fix most of the cabinets to Urla’s unique umbrella units, some coordination with the interior design and operations teams was required, and the subs were built into ID-finished enclosures to hide them better.”

All design work, including the essential modelling of the system in Soundvision, was handled by the Levels team. “However, we always refer back to our L-Acoustics regional application engineer, Rahul Samuel, to cross-check and validate our designs,” says Ball. “Rahul was very supportive and helped add some small adjustments for further optimisation of the system.”

Levels is pleased to report that its client is delighted with the results. So much so that they have been invited to review existing venues with a view to upgrading them to L-Acoustics.

“To successfully complete a project and then be asked to look at more venues is the best compliment you can get,” concludes Alwan. “Urla is already gaining a reputation for being one of Dubai’s most vibrant culinary hotspots. It is also a showstopper location for great sound. It really does please all the senses.”
– L-Acoustics Press Release