When starting an acoustic and audiovisual systems integration project, it is essential to focus on the technical needs of the project and the requirements and functionalities of the different spaces involved.
By Sergio Molho*
The detailed study of the program of use of the technical and non-technical areas, will allow us to quickly identify the needs of acoustic insulation, interior acoustic treatment and system integration, which will allow us to fulfill the functions of the project without affecting the boundary spaces and with high efficiency.
We want to share the process of 2 projects with different typologies that serve to illustrate their technological scope and building development made available to their users and customers
Hogarth Studios Mexico
Victor Machado, senior regional audio director for Hogarth Mexico, reports that WSDG has been hired to create a recording studio complex for the new offices of the International Advertising/Marketing/Communication company in Mexico City. "I worked in a studio designed by WSDG ten years ago, and I knew that when I had the opportunity to commission a new studio that they would be my favorite designers," Machado said.
Opened in a small penthouse above a shop near London's Carnaby Street in 2008, Hogarth quickly grew from a three-man core to a team of fourteen qualified creative and commercial managers. The agency has produced exceptional work for clients ranging from Ford to Gucci, Volvo, Greenpeace, Pringles, British Airways, Heinz and Rolls Royce. Hogarth maintains more than 40 broadcast production suites worldwide, including its sophisticated Gramercy Park Studios, a state-of-the-art post-production facility and creative service. WSDG renovated the company's original studio in Mexico City in 2014.
The Mexico office has become a mainstay in Hogarth's global broadcast production process, not only in Latin America, but also in North America and Europe. For this reason, it was critical that the new study provided extremely high connectivity between the companies' sister offices.
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Hogarth's new recording facility is designed for VO recording and sound design for advertising. Linked in real time to the firm's companies in London, New York, Singapore, etc., through an exit of Avid MTRX and Dante Protocol Network. The complex provides Hogarth with state-of-the-art production capabilities. Commenting on the new assignment, WSDG Partner/Director of Business Development, Sergio Molho commented: "We are especially pleased to have created this audio production/post-production facility for Hogarth's new offices in Mexico City. Their exceptional work is recognized by customers around the world, their standards are extremely high and the double control room, live room and sound blocking complex we have designed for them will support their growing production needs for many years to come."
The studios had to offer high connectivity to meet the company's communication and global work, which was technically achieved with the Avid MTRX console. Integration with network output for Dante protocol. A high end and custom equipment was also integrated into the monitor system, its components are designed for sound functions related to broadcast".
The interior acoustic design and aesthetics were developed by Silvia Campos Ulloa Molho (partner and art director of WSDG); together with the architect John Storyk (founder of the company) and the technical documentation was in charge of the architect Mariana Varón. WSDG engineers performed the acoustic calculations and the behavior of space. The aesthetic is supported by sober and modern tones.
For WSDG, the greatest learning from this project was to verify that in Mexico and Latin America it is possible to manage and operate the work in compliance with the formality.
List of technological equipment:
• Pro Tools MTRX Base Unit w/MADI & Pro Mon
• Pro Tools MTRX 8 Mic/Line Pristine AD Card
• Pro Tools MTRX Pristine 8 DA Card
• Dante Pro Tools MTRX 64 channel IP Audio Module
• Avid S3 Control Surface Studio control surface
• Monitor Operating Module MOM – 5.1 Monitoring
• Focusrite Pro RedNet AM2 Stereo Dante Headphone Amplifier
• HMB115 Stereo Direct Box Rolls Signal Converter
• Rackmount 1RU Universal Blackmagic Mini Converter
• xMac Pro Server PCIe Thunderbolt 2 Expansion
• Microphone Desk Stand network output with Dante
• Talkback Mic
• KVM Extender DVI-D USB Dual Access Multi-Mode Fiber
• Mac
• Monitors Operator and VO Talent SDI
STUDIO 13 - Mexico
A striking seven-story building is a distinctive addition to Mexico City's architectural profile, this the new home of Estudio 13.
With a three-story glass wall and a spectacular balcony-like profile, this WSDG-designed facility houses a triple recording area, 7,000 square feet. Two full control rooms, live recording rooms and a piano/rehearsal room with an imperial handcrafted Bösendorfer piano.
For more than seventeen years, Estudio 13 recorded various projects in its original facilities in Mexico City. Its success grew leading to the need for a larger and more acoustically dedicated recording space.
The company's music director/producer/music director, José Francisco Aguilera, and the studio operations/projects manager, Eduardo Acosta, agreed that the expansion was critical. They contacted WSDG co-director Sergio Molho and began looking for a site for the basic seven-story building they envisioned.
Planning for the project began in 2013 and, in mid-2015, they acquired the land, and planned a ground floor, the 562-square-foot "Piano Room, which would feature an Imperial Bösendorfer piano. A 159-square-foot control room A on the second floor and the 150-square-foot control room B on the third floor, the piano room would be ideal for string sections or choral ensembles in addition to the obvious piano recording sessions. Control room A would be made up of a 48-channel AWS 948 SSL console, a 5.1 monitoring system equipped with Focal SM9 speakers and a Focal Sub 6 subwoofer.
The second floor would be highlighted by a 350-square-foot live room, which extends like a balcony over the piano room, and features a triple-height ceiling and many windows. With two spacious Iso cabins. And this became a reality.
Estudio 13 is ideal for a perfect technical process. Designed primarily for stereo mixing and mastering, the third-floor Control Room B and Iso booth are also designed for voice and radio recording. To provide effortless communication between artists, producers and engineers, the entire complex was fully connected for video and audio.
Art Director Silvia Molho worked closely with clients to develop a beautiful, spacious and colorful complex adorned with natural wood and different shades of blue and purple.
The numerous windows of Studio 13 offer natural sun, stars and moonlight. Ample glass between the control rooms, iso booths and live rooms provide welcome visual connectivity.
The three-story glass wall is sloping inward on the ground floor, providing the building with additional sound insulation from the exterior fountains and a distinctive architectural touch. On the equipment side, Studio 13 offers a collection of over 100 antique and modern microphones, a deep set of contemporary and classical analog peripherals, and a wide range of guitars and other instruments for customer use.
"We are pleased to have the benefits of this design and the valuable acoustic contribution. Many of our customers have congratulated us on these aspects and on the sound of our recording rooms. Those comments regularly remind us that we did the right thing, says José Francisco Aguilera, Director of Estudio 13.
Currently Estudio 13 is one of the most important audio production and post-production studios in Mexico and Latin America.
*Sergio Molho is co-director of WSDG, a global firm specializing in architectural acoustic consulting and media systems engineering that provides design and consulting services.
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