The Jane

In search for perfection
In his new restaurant The Jane, Michelin Star chef Sergio Herman is in search for perfection, trying to improve and raise the level of quality even higher. The smallest of things become important, from the calling cards to the leather label that people are given at the cloakroom. All the details start to matter. According to Sergio, ‘Everything in The Jane is the result of meetings, discussions and negotiations. It was all put in place by the right people around us.’

In the kitchen of The Jane the chefs always listen to music. But music is also an important element for the guests. The music is always custom made. In doing that, The Jane creates an own world for the guests to experience. Sergio Herman thinks that life without music has no point, and a restaurant without the right beats is incomplete. The concept of The Jane does not end with good food. Dining out has to be an experience. They want to set the mood by stimulating the guests’ senses with art, design, fashion, music and good food.

Dedication to sound
Bowers & Wilkins Architectural Monitor AM-1 is a winning combination of premium sound quality, discreet styling, durable construction and supreme flexibility. Suitable for installation in a wide range of outdoor and indoor applications, it’s the most durable loudspeaker Bowers & Wilkins has ever made.

Perfect sound and acoustics
Bowers & Wilkins was asked to supply speakers that fitted in with the restaurants beautiful design. Therefor Bowers & Wilkins implemented the AM-1, which is actually an outdoor speaker. Because its beautiful design, the AM1 is also ideal for indoor use. It can be painted in any colour to blend in with its surroundings. The AM-1 is used everywhere: from restaurant, kitchens, to the toilets where they are combined with the CI600 in-ceiling speakers. In the private dining room CI800 in-ceiling speakers were used.

In addition, Bowers & Wilkins strongly recommended not only looking into the sound reproduction, but also the acoustics. The Jane is located in a former chapel. With lots of echo. To obtain a good sound it was not so much a challenge to engineer the acoustics, but rather to improve the building’s acoustics inconspicuously and invisibly. The problem was tackled in close cooperation with the architect. The 100 m2 floor of the Upper Room Bar was dampened and 70 meters of moulding was covered in broadband absorption material and painted in the right colour. The hollow spaces in the fabric backs, behind the seats near the wall, were filled with absorption material that works in the ‘speech’ frequency range. The effect is easily noticeable when you sit down to eat. Ambient noise falls away immediately and does not echo. By talking about sound and acoustics at an early stage in this project Bowers & Wilkins could achieve a maximum sound quality within the available budget.

The Jane: passion for food, sound & vision
In the former chapel of the Military Hospital in Antwerp, Michelin Star chef Sergio Herman created a new culinary Valhalla for people who love everything that tastes and looks good. The Jane is a total concept that pleases all senses. But there is one thing above all others that gives the team of The Jane and visitors energy and inspiration; music.

The breathtaking restaurant on the ground floor of The Jane can seat sixty guests who all have a view of the huge open kitchen behind the glass partition where the altar was originally located. The layout was chosen in this way because, in Sergio’s words, ‘Food is our religion’. Upstairs is a DJ booth and the Upper Room Bar for fourty guests. Downstairs, beneath the restaurant, space has been made for a preparation kitchen and a private dining room that can accommodate up to twelve guests.

Loudspeaker Integration
AM-1: Architectural Monitor
CI600: In-Wall, In-Ceiling Custom Install Series
CI800: In-Wall, In-Ceiling Custom Install Series

Amplification
Rotel: 15 Series