Basement Recording Studio- l'hôtel particulier house, France

Hello! This is my first post. A day can easily disappear reading through this immense and very helpful resource! I am going to try and follow the rules and to provide information as concisely and informatively as I can. Location: In the region of Mayenne, France Phase: Currently in the costing / design phase of a residential recording studio Budget: 50k for construction (including communal areas) Current Plans: Image below Building: > The basement area of a l'hôtel particulier style house built in the 1900 > A brick vaulted ceiling throughout with mud flooring > Approximately 1,700 sq ft > Ceiling height of 7.5-8.2 ft (the possibility to dig down at least another 3ft) > Wall Exterior width is 2.1ft. Wall Interior width is 1.6ft except ‘Vocal booth / Iso Room’ which is also 2.1ft. Layout and usage: > Control Room: 17.9 x 14.6ft > Live room: 18 x 13.4ft with an alcove area 11.6 x 5.5ft > Vocal/Iso Booth: 10.3 x 9.7ft > Communal Area/Bedroom: The communal area will comprise of a kitchen, bathroom and table. Dimensions of these areas are on the plan below > Entry: There are two entries to the basement, one from upstairs, and one from Basement level. The Basement entrance will be the main entrance to the studio. > Timescale: As soon as is possible (preferably by the end of 2016). > Studio Usage: Recording bands of any genre with a focus on acoustic folk and alternative rock Points to note: > Due to the thickness and density of these walls, I expect that the main isolation that needs to be addressed will be the windows, doors and structural borne sound coming through the ceiling and possible airborne sound coming from the studio to the 1st floor of the house. > I am keen to keep some of the charm of the old cellar and a feeling of space and natural light. >Walls -I am evaluating the possibility of leaving some of the walls exposed (if I am able to keep them damp proof.) This would increase the size of the space and retain some of the character. > Vaulted brick ceiling - The floor above is an open wooden parquet floor, with wooden joists and a layer of dirt and then the vaulted brick ceiling. From what I can tell the space from the parquet flooring to the brickwork is about a 1/2ft > For the airborne sound leaking into the 1st floor, from this forum, I found out about celullose insulation. This could possibly be blown between the joists, which would presumably help with some airborne sound. > One option to help with the structural sound is to create a new ceiling. I had been advised by a Chartered Surveyor that you could use crochets and have dense fibre and expanding metal hanging on the crochets and then a flexible material could be applied to it. “Crochets that fix through washers, which in turn have a metal lap. The metal lap provides a good sound key for the cement render. You then run the cement render all around, which provides an almost airtight finish". With this method, I could keep the form of the vaulted brick ceiling or make it flat or presumably slanted. I need to seek clarification on this method but I will be interested if anyone had experience with these methods or any alternative methods they could recommend for vaulted brick ceilings. > I have read about the use of resilient channels/neoprene and plywood on this forum. Although, I am not sure how these would be fixed/erected (without drywalling and creating a room within a room). All of this information leads me to two questions: For the vaulted brick ceiling, what would be the best method for reducing structural sound from above? For the walls, would it be advisable to leave some of the brick exposed and add diffusion and absorption panelling (particularly within the Live Room)? Any comments, questions or feedback would be welcomed! Thanks, Luke