Daniel B.
Yelp
Ambient Plus Studio is a huge event space south of downtown Atlanta and the Castleberry Hill district. It's essentially a giant converted loft in the old Southern Mills warehouse. The original Southern Mills signage still remains on the exterior of the aged brick building.
I've been to Ambient twice: once in October 2009 for a big, open (Elites + non-Elites) Yelp event and again in February 2014 for Atlanta CSI 2, a murder mystery game put on by Unique Events Interactive Atlanta. The space hasn't changed a bit over the past 4+ years (at least, not as far as I could tell).
The studio consists of a 10,000 square foot room with vaulted ceilings. The space is enormous, open, and wide. It's located on the second floor of the building, so you do have to take some stairs up. The building is old and creaky, most notably the hardwood floors. The restrooms are small and dated. It's a vintage space.
There are a few separate rooms off to the sides which can be used for storage or staging areas. At the Yelp event, these rooms were reserved for special vendors. I want to say a beautician/make-up person was in one of these rooms. At the murder mystery event, these rooms were used for: (1) the murder scenes, (2) the bar, and (3) the kitchen. There's also a small loft upstairs, though I'm not sure generally what it's used for. At the murder mystery event, a quick scene took place in the loft and on the loft steps.
At one end of the space is a large white stage which also rolls up the wall, like a skate board ramp, to the ceiling. I can see this white flooring and white backdrop being used for photo shoots. I know the founder of the studio is a photographer and the studio has been used for many photo shoots. At the murder mystery event, this stage was used for important scenes among the cast members. Videos were projected on the white wall as well.
Food was served at both events I attended. At the Yelp event, vendors had tables set up around the perimeter of the space. There were many vendors. At the murder mystery event, upwards of 20 round tables, each seating 8-10 people each, were set up on one half of the floor. There was a buffet off to the side. That setup reminded me very much of a wedding, of which I'm sure this space has hosted more than its fair share.
Also at the Yelp event was a photo booth with a rough sketch of the Atlanta skyline on the brick in the background. To top it all off, there was a DJ who spun tunes throughout the evening and a spectacular breakdancing performance towards the end of the night. Since both events happened when it was dark out, I can't attest to the natural lighting of the place. I will say the windows are big and tall.
Parking is located in a free, chain-link-fenced-in parking lot the next block over. It's a gravel lot with no marked spaces. Plenty of cars can fit in there, but it might be a good idea to have parking attendants for big events so they can help form efficient rows of parking. The studio is located in an old industrial part of town. It doesn't feel the safest, though for events with lots of people, you're probably OK.
In the end, I do like Ambient Plus Studio. It's massive, old school, and versatile.
