Aures London – Venue Showcase
I first met one of the founders of Aures London, Robyn Collins (below left), when she was working at Floridita, for D&D London (which is now 100 Wardour Street. We got on well and she kept my details to hand when she left, so I was delighted when she got in touch to say she had opened a brand new venue with her business partner Sam (below right) and would like to have me as their venue, and recommended client party, photographer.
I, of course, was very happy to be a part of this new start up and roll on, nearly 8 years later and I’ve shot there many times, capturing a wide range of events, from a Gatsby themed 18th birthday party, to a launch of a new high-end perfume, several corporate events, and a new album launch for a pop-star. I even hosted my own private exhibition and dance there a year ago, and I’ve loved seeing Aures London grow into an incredible unique space.
I enjoy shooting at Aures London, as it always feels like catching up with old friends. The small, but brilliant, team who work there are so lovely and always innovating and creating new ideas and exploring the latest tech, so it’s a buzz to be a part of that. Plus, I get some incredible photos, with their amazing 360 screen technology creating incredible light effects, which is always good for a photographer!
They also attract fun clients who are usually up for having their photos taken and, quite often, relish the chance to get pictures by the graffiti outside too – as the location inside the ‘Banksy Tunnel’ is so creative. One of my favourite moments was shooting these top eye surgeons, based in Harley Street, really successful and well respected in their field….and here they are, game to pose for a ‘silly’ photo with the words “Trust me, I’m a Ducktor”.
Your Names: Robyn Collins & Sam Davis
Venue Name: Aures London
Job Title: Directors/Owners
How long have you worked there: Since we opened it in 2017.
Prior experience/jobs:
I (Robyn) have been in the hospitality trade for several decades….originally starting with a small events company that hosted dancers and nightclubs, then went onto create insane set designs for clients, which had me working for some of the largest venues in Toronto, (where Robyn is originally from), the Film Festival, large corporates and worked with Liberty Entertainment Group, which is very well known in Canada.
Sam and I met working on the scene in Canada and it was actually him that told me about the working visa available to come to the UK – as Canada is part of The Commonwealth. We came to London at similar times and neither of us left!
I came to England, because it was easier to explore Europe and London itself had many great opportunities for working in the industry, so I started working with members club like China White and Pangea. We hosted so many crazy celebrity events – it was a lot of fun!
But, eventually, I wanted to get back into the event (rather than clubbing/parties) business and started working for Floridita, with D&D London. I had always wanted to run my own event space but didn’t have the funds to get it up to the level it is now at Aures London so we’ve had to build slowly and whilst we have come so far from our humble beginnings, we are constantly developing new tech and ideas….
Sam is a real audiophile and has always been obsessed with music and sound. I am little more on the arty, events side but also love my music. So we have been able to fuse our skills together to develop Aures London. So many night clubs have just a couple of ordinary speakers, often not great quality and DJS are often playing MP3s from a laptop; whereas we focus on high quality music and the best environment to recreate those sounds.
Creating a multi sensory venue, which help brands and experiences come to life has been an incredible journey and we can’t wait to see how far we can take it.
What does the venue specialise in?
Aures is a London-based event space that connects and inspires people to achieve wellbeing through art, technology, and immersive experiences.
We power immersive events, performances, exhibitions and research for creative brands and organisations.
We host everything from small breath-work meditation sessions, to a corporate product launch for 150, with bespoke cocktails, a birthday party with canapés to an album launch for 300 people.
Any interesting historical facts about the venue?
Aures is based in the Leake Street tunnel, A.K.A the Banksy Tunnel, which is Europe’s largest graffiti tunnel. Check it out – it is free and legal for anyone to paint here and is always full of visitors taking photos in front of the latest artworks. The venue itself is in what was previously a national rail storage area. Aures is latin for EAR. We actually started with just sound and the vision part of our venue came later.
What makes your venue unique/special?
Aures London is one the most multi-sensory immersive venues available. Humans interact with the world through sensory interaction and we specialise in digital immersion, using the latest in tech, to transport all the senses to our guests. We enable this through the following –
– 34 speakers, capable of creating bespoke 3d soundscapes, transporting the listener to the projected world.
7 Epson 10,000 lumen laser projectors make up our main visual system sporting a gigantic canvas of over 12,000 pixels wide. This is seamlessly blended together using a single specialist computer to power the visuals
– Around the venue are scent nebulisers, delivering delectable odours to the nasal cavities of guests, further enforcing the guests experience.
– Lighting systems are used to further complement and often extend the visuals up into the ceiling using synergy to pixel map lights to the visuals being played across the 36m screen.
– Haptic technology transports the bass frequencies straight into the guests bodies meaning they feel the music along with hearing it, which gives a more full bodied sound experience, without us having to use excessive sound levels.
Over the last 3 years we have invested over £300k into improving and upgrading systems
We are proudly partnered with most of the Technology brands we use, Pioneer, Epson, Robe, Avolites, Subpack, Ecoscent.
Can you recall a funny/unique story about a recent event?
At Aures we offer team building graffiti exercises for the guests. During one event a few guests decided to keep their safety boiler suits on and just dance around the venue, which was pretty funny to watch. Unfortunately (or fortunately perhaps) we have no footage of this…
Do you have a favourite spot in the venue?
One of the best spots in the venue is the control room that looks out over the top of the main function room. From here you get the perfect view of the action and the visuals surrounding the clients.
Plus, it’s extra warm and toasty in there!
What’s your favourite dish on your menu (whether it’s for the wedding menu, staff menu or if there is a restaurant or café in house?)
At Aures London we outsource food trucks for our clients, so we offer a wide range of food from canapés and bowl food to a fully seated menus if required. The tastiest one so far, I think, is the Lebanese street food Truck.
What are yours/the venues goals and plans for the next year or so………
We plan to extend our immersive capabilities, especially the sound experience and become a fully immersive 360 spatial sound Audio experience.
In addition, we plan to create more public immersive experiences, like our special event LexTempus.
We are also launching a teaching platform for people wanting to learn more about sound and immersive technology through a program called ‘The Science Of Sound’.
What are the best things about working in Hospitality?
The variety of people and types of events.
We also really enjoy it when clients push the immersive boundaries and create truly memorable experiences within the venue.
And the worst?
The worst part of hospitality can be the long hours and especially a close down after a big day when you really just want to put your feet up!
Covid & Brexit turned hospitality upside down. We are now back in biz – with many challenges still – strikes, high fuel prices, cost of living & hospitality staff shortages. What are you most grateful for, coming back from lockdowns? And what do you think we can do/need to do, regarding the challenges we face now?
Since covid we are grateful for the spike in demand for events. After lockdown the need to bring people together was vital for everyone’s well-being. Events have proven to be a perfect way of bringing people together.
We are also super grateful to the Art Council for their continued support. We plan to continue offering the very best to our clients and are committed to helping them create memorable events and experiences that they will talk about for years to come.
We would like our clients to experiment more with immersive technologies at Aures, and elsewhere, as we strongly believe this is the future of events.
What would you like to see improve in hospitality?
We would like our clients to experiment more with immersive technologies at Aures, and elsewhere, as we strongly believe this is the future of events.
What are you doing to be more sustainable in your venue?
We fully recycle and compost. If we have to use disposable items, we make sure they are fully compostable and help our clients can utilise that.
We also keep our caterers local and are about to start a new partnership with Camm & Hooper, who run multiple venues around the UK but have a base right next door at 26 Leake Street.
Please tell me about the accessibility at your venue – for example do you have good disability access (wide walkways, audio summery features etc)?
At Aures we use haptic systems that allow base frequency vibrations to be felt – it’s also a unique way of allowing people who are hard of hearing to feel the music. Aures has wheelchair access through the main entrance and access to disabled toilets in our neighbouring buildings.
What do you think of the use of professional photography at your venue for marketing and/or events? (Be honest!)
I think Professional photography is a necessary aspect of marketing events, to be able to capture the essence of an event well and professionally so that we can portray that to potential clients. Great photography helps us make more events! For example, we recently held a week long client showcase for Hotel Chocolate and hired Susannah to come by and capture some images of the set-up, below, which we’ll be able to show future potential clients.
How is your relationship with social media? Anything you wish you knew more or had time to do more of?
At Aures we have developed a good following on our social platforms and will continue to encourage people attending to post about their experiences with us.
It’s great to see the events set up and in action on our socials and also to see customers post fun snaps of them have a great time.
Any hospitality heroes? Or people that inspire you?
We really appreciate any clients and venues that are including immersive technologies into their events, but especially ones that adhere to wellbeing and sustainability.
We’ve been inspired by experiences we’ve had over the years, but as we are pioneers in this type of multi sensory venue, we don’t any one specific role model and actually hope to inspire others in the future.
Favourite London venue (apart from yours!)
Robyn – I actually love going to events and festivals in the parks, and outdoors events throughout London. For me to enjoys events and music in natural environments is a wonderful experience and, of course, a nice contrast to our space.
Sam – Koko London because of all the brilliant gigs they put on.
Where’s a great place to take a visitor in London?
Sam – Southwark along the river is a favourite of mine. I also love drinks at 12th Knot above the Sea Containers along the Thames.
Robyn – The diversity of the markets between Borough, Portobello etc. I love the casual dining of places like Barafina. For drinks I also go to 12th Knot and love Convent Garden and enjoy the older areas of the city plus being by The Thames.
What’s your ideal Sunday in London?
Sam – A long lazy lunch in and around Borough and Maltby Markets
Robyn – Going to Notting Hill on a Sunday and no matter what vibe you’re feeling there is always something that fits the mood.
What’s your best advice/instruction for anyone considering an event at your venue?
My best advice is to take full advantage of our multi sensory capabilities within the venue, encompassing Site, with our 360 visual capabilities, Sound with our 34 speaker sound system, Smell with our multiple scent option diffusers, Taste through our bespoke cocktail, mocktail and food options and touch through our haptic units. All five senses comes together to create a fully immersive experience.
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