Please help me design studio

Hi John/others, Please help me design the studio. I have been given this much space to design a studio. In this part of Africa, the buidling is all burnt brick. The external wall is 230mm. The DIMS for the studio space are 16610mm (L) x 9900mm (w) and a 5525mm height. I have no idea where to start except that I need one large live room, 1 control room, 2 ISO booths. Just outside the entrance there is space for air-lock design. I have the whole diagram in CAD and PDF also. Please help. Lawrence

Aloha and welcome to the forum, Lawrence! :D Congrats on your studio build! Any chance you could please:

Edit your profile to include your location. This is very important, because this is a worldwide resource, and as such, material costs and availability vary widely. For example, masonry is cheaper than gypsum in some parts of the globe, whereas it's the exact opposite in other regions.

You'll probably get more of a response by doing so and this will really come in handy two or three posts down the road. It's also part of the forum guidelines: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 Thanks! :wink: If you could review this link: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 and try to provide as much information as you can, it would be really helpful. Here's a couple of good places to start for ideas: SAE Website: http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html (be sure to click on the acoustics, absorbers, construction tabs at left, and tabs that appear at the top of the pages) Reference Area: http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2125 More Useful Links: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1168 And finally, here's a couple of layouts by John for some ideas. Looking forward to your build! Aloha 8)

Sorry to thread-jack.. but.. kendale: Can you link me to the thread for the first image... WOW.. That's a cool one Thanks

kendale wrote:

Aloha and welcome to the forum, Lawrence! :D Congrats on your studio build! Any chance you could please:

Edit your profile to include your location. This is very important, because this is a worldwide resource, and as such, material costs and availability vary widely. For example, masonry is cheaper than gypsum in some parts of the globe, whereas it's the exact opposite in other regions.

You'll probably get more of a response by doing so and this will really come in handy two or three posts down the road. It's also part of the forum guidelines: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 Thanks! :wink: If you could review this link: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 and try to provide as much information as you can, it would be really helpful. Here's a couple of good places to start for ideas: SAE Website: http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html (be sure to click on the acoustics, absorbers, construction tabs at left, and tabs that appear at the top of the pages) Reference Area: http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2125 More Useful Links: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1168 And finally, here's a couple of layouts by John for some ideas. Looking forward to your build! Aloha 8)

Thank you Kandale. I updated my profile. My studio is in Malawi, thats Southern Africa. However the designs you suggested doesn't really meet my tastes. Unfortunately I am worried with the existing entrances and storage. Can anyoone please help me with a sketch based on current building plans? I also need ceiling designs especially in the control room. What about design specs, the DIMS? How would I tell my architect-helper this is what it means and so forth? I have seen John and Knighfly help people - please help me with a sketch. Please help!

Aloha Lawrence, Thank you for updating your profile. :wink: I'm sorry the drawings didn't meet your tastes. They were just to give a few ideas and possibilities so you can post a drawing of your own to give us an idea of what you're looking for. The more info you can provide, the easier it will be to offer some help. Please review http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 which offers some guidance by both John and Knigthfly on what they consider to be important points regarding this. Best regards, Aloha 8)

kendale wrote:

Aloha Lawrence, Thank you for updating your profile. :wink: I'm sorry the drawings didn't meet your tastes. They were just to give a few ideas and possibilities so you can post a drawing of your own to give us an idea of what you're looking for. The more info you can provide, the easier it will be to offer some help. Please review http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 which offers some guidance by both John and Knigthfly on what they consider to be important points regarding this. Best regards, Aloha 8)

Aloha! kandale: I thank you again for guiding me and for being positive. My apology for not being forthcoming with what I am looking for. I should retract that the diagrams didn't meet my tastes and but do agree with you that the diagrams gave me a lot of ideas. I am trying hard to figure out what I have left out as I have read John's and Knightfly's guide couple times. So I will revisit some facts including those which I believe I might have left them out. (A). The most important information is the fact that the whole building is on foundation level, and on hold pending completion of acoustic designs. (B). My goal is to be able to record Choir Groups which in this country can go up to 6o people. I should be able to accommodate that number comfortably. I also want at least one ISO which can be used to 3-pple maximum. I am really not sure about have an ISO for Drums. (1). Studio Location is Malawi, Southern Africa. (2). DIMS of the the room are(metric): 16610mm (L) x 9900mm (W) and the height of 5525mm (ceiling). Imperial: 54.49' (L) x 32.48' (W) x and the height of 18.13'. (3). Using the diagram you (Kandale) provided above, I have scaled and fit in my space. And I like that :D ! The main entrance matches with the diagram. The door to the storage room will be closed/sealed. (4). The external wall is burnt brick (universal size) with double lay measuring 230mm in thickness and internal walls are single lay measuring 115mm. (5). For absorbtion purposes I plan to use the foams found on http://www.hsfacoustics.com/studiopacks.htm. QUESTIONS: (i). Can we use bricks instead of wood framing? Would this still work? I read from one of those guides and I qute, "concrete masonry units (concrete blocks) are usually sufficiently heavy that walls constructed from them provide STC ratings of about 45 to 55 simply by sealing the block surface". Why I need brick wall - because woodframing and stuffings are either expensive or not allowed under local building code/regulations. Building are built of bricks, concrete etc but not 'wood or steel framing'. (ii). We cannot afford huge slide-glass-doors so our option is to have acoustic design windows (angled-framed). Comments? (iii). I need something like a air-lock on the main entrance. (iv). Overall I need a larger live room. (v). I really prefer to have a Console facing the Control room window. Look at the last drawing. I need help to best scale this to reflect the diagram in relation to my room space. Or can anyone please help with sketch suggestion now that I have provided more information? I hope I have improved on providing information, and I hope Kandale and others will continue helping, and I further thank you all for your help. Lawrence