MIAMI—Event activations, corporate meetings, and weddings can now be enveloped in starry nights or abstract art animations when they book the newly renovated ballroom at W South Beach.
The 4,300-square-foot space has replaced its once-ornate outfittings—which emphasized paneled chandelier ceiling lighting and gray walls anchored by a marbled wall piece—with all-white walls to display its floor-to-ceiling, 360-degree projections. The ballroom’s accents, such as podiums and bookcases, have been remade in softer wood tones and brass finishes, creating an all-around, modernized blank canvas.
While projections like these have grown in popularity in museum and multimedia spaces like Super Blue in Miami, L’Atelier des Lumiéres in Paris, and the Sphere in Las Vegas, W South Beach is supposedly the first hotel in North America to add this dynamic visual element to a conference setting. The new technology is also energy efficient: The built-in system does not produce heat or UV emissions.
The hotel’s current content library for projection includes photographic stills, videos, wallpaper graphics, party effects, and abstract digital art.
W South Beach hired BRDG Studios to install the enhancements, which include 12 ceiling coves and six wall arches—all with customizable LED lighting. The ballroom seats up to 250 people and can be split into two smaller rooms. Additionally, the revamped space features 52 pin spots (26 for each room) with an adjustable 6-foot radius beam, 24 built-in microphones (12 for each room), and 32 audio speakers (16 for each room).
The hotel’s current content library for projection holds approximately 80 unique items (and growing), including photographic stills, videos, wallpaper graphics, party effects, and abstract digital art. Once a client books the ballroom, they can work alongside W South Beach and BRDG to create their one-of-a-kind immersive experience.
W South Beach hired BRDG Studios to install the enhancements, which include 12 ceiling coves and six wall arches—all with customizable LED lighting.Photo: Courtesy of W South Beach
Susan Wesselhoft, W South Beach’s director of catering sales, recommends allowing at least six weeks' time for content ideation and delivery. “We’re currently designing a mini, interactive website just for the ballroom,” she adds. “This website will allow clients to preview and personalize the space with all of our in-house content, and also test all of the state-of-the-art features.”
Event holders can also host meeting breakouts or more intimate moments within the ballroom's sister studios, which feature a lighter, tech-forward aesthetic refresh that mirrors the larger ballroom. Each studio can hold up to 60 people and is equipped with 75-inch LCD monitors; wireless internet and HDMI connectivity; Ensenio Hotel TV programming; and dimmable, soft white LED and recess lighting.
In June, W South Beach gave 20 East Coast event planners a first look at the upgrades with a seated dinner experience, produced by Daughter of Design. “W South Beach’s event planner dinner was a great reintroduction to all the different event spaces,” notes Annie Lee, Daughter of Design’s principal planner. “The new video mapping in their renovated ballroom space is a game changer.”
The $6 million ballroom completion follows the hotel’s $30 million guest room and spa renovations in 2020. The property recently welcomed Think Hospitality to spearhead its food and beverage and catering options. The hotel’s multiyear overhauls conclude this winter when the poolside WET Deck cabanas and bar upgrades are complete.
