Located near Grand Central Terminal, in New York City’s Midtown East neighborhood, Vitae is a classy, upscale restaurant featuring a “New American” menu. Designed by architect Niels Guldager of New York interior design firm Studio CMP (
), Vitae draws on the history of Midtown while bearing a strong contemporary identity that includes sound and acoustics as important design elements.
Architect Guldager said “bad sound can ruin an otherwise perfect restaurant environment. I want the right background music level and clarity so people can hear the music but still hold a conversation. And,” he continued, “clarity is key in getting sound into the ‘sweet spot’ as a design element.”
Guldager worked with contractor David Schwartz of Essential Communications in East Hanover, NJ, to design the sound system for Vitae. “The restaurant’s design didn’t always allow us to place the loudspeakers in the best locations for coverage,” said Schwartz. “And, the restaurant has several different ceiling heights.”
After considering these challenges, Schwartz chose Community’s new D-Series ceiling loudspeakers to meet the restaurant’s design goals of clarity and consistent level. D-Series wide, smooth dispersion helped Schwartz get good coverage throughout the restaurant. And, D-Series offered him seven different sized models, with uniform voicing, to help achieve consistent sound level and clarity in the different ceiling heights. Schwartz chose D-Series 6”, 8” and 10” models and notes that he was able to achieve “good blending despite the three different models of loudspeaker.” The system also has zones for music adjustment and source selection. This allows a choice of level and music style for private parties in spaces like the mezzanine.
With its attractive modern appearance, excellent food and great sound, Vitae continues to receive excellent reviews from publications like the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal and Virtual Gourmet and from patrons who post online comments like, “Why did I not find this place earlier?”
