University project - Studio/Rehearsal space design

[Tetraplex]

Hi guys, Loving some of the builds on here, makes me want to pick up a guitar again and get back in the studio!

I have some questions which (hopefully) some of you guys may be able to help me out on, any input is a massive help as I understand it's everyone's free time being used.

I'm currently studying a BSc in Design Technology Engineering at university in the UK, and as part of a vibroacoustics module, i've been set with the task of concept designing a studio/rehearsal space.

Here is part of the brief -

A University has been granted a property next to a main road, above a busy rail line. The land was granted by a successful musician with the proviso that the site is to be used to help young musicians.
Other Departments will be designing reception, catering and sanitation facilities You have been tasked with designing a rehearsal space suitable for solo instruments up to “heavy metal” bands, complete with a recording suite.
The facility should provide a safe and comfortable environment for recording equipment operatives, and satisfy and legislative requirements. It should be possible for rehearsals to be carried out under consistent and repeatable conditions, minimising vibroacoustic influences from road and rail sources.
You can assume that this legacy includes a sizable budget and part of the large open-space ground floor.

While I assume you guys would be eager to share your 2 cents on perfect designs, initially, I only ask the following of you.

I need to carry out research on existing systems/builds and performance data relating to each for comparison. Does anybody have any before and after data regarding builds, improvements etc?
I'm mainly interested in transmission loss, reverb times etc (useful data).

I have looked at quite a few builds on here but nothing seems to have the A/B comparison data I'm after.

After this, I will go ahead with my design proposals and post them here for you guys to look, laugh, admire, comment, improve? etc


Thanks for taking the time to read this, much appreciated

Rob

[Soundman2020]

Hi Rob. Please read the forum rules for posting (click here). You seem to be missing a couple of things!

For that type of project, I wouldn't go looking for results of home-built studios, but rather look at research papers on the issues that you'll need to deal with. For example, for walls you'll need to study this:

http://archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/d ... /ir761.pdf

For floors, I'd go with this:

http://archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/d ... /ir802.pdf

To get an understanding of how this type of high-level acoustic isolation REALLY works (not the way it is assumed to work by most people, nor the way the internet myths and snake-oil salesmen describe it), the Wyle Report is a really good start:

https://app.box.com/shared/jcaoavdc8g

I'd also suggest two books: "Master Handbook of Acoustics" by F. Alton Everest (that's sort of the Bible for acoustics), and "Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros", by Rod Gervais

I would work it out along those lines. And since this hypothetical studio is going to be built over a busy railway line and right next to a major road, correctly floating the floor is definitely something you'd want to do. That's about the worst possible case they could come up with! About the only way to make it more complicated, would be to site it directly under the departure path from a major airport, just a mile or so off the end of the runway... At least they spared you that!

About floating floors, you might want to read this:

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... f=2&t=8173

That explains why most people do NOT need floating floors for their studios, but you will in this case, so read it from that perspective, as it will give you an idea of just how hard it is to do this right. Fortunately, they gave you a big budget! You'll need it to do meet the goals they set for you, that's for sure.


- Stuart -

[Tetraplex]

Thanks for the reply, Stuart
Yes i'm aware that i'm not going to get the actual science behind the design from this forum, that's what I've been doing in class.
I posted here to see if I could get data from real life examples, as the initial part of my project is to research different systems, compare, an analyse them.
This isn't directly linked to the actual design I will be carrying out.

Thanks for those links, I already have the "Master Handbook of Acoustics", but the information regarding floating floors will be very helpful!

Rob

[Soundman2020]

Yes i'm aware that i'm not going to get the actual science behind the design from this forum,

You'd be surprised! There's a boat-load of science on this forum, and some of the best studio designers and acousticians in the industry are forum members (even if they don't post very often). Different from the majority of studio design web sites, here we actually do take the science of acoustics seriously, as well as the practicabilities of actually building studios.

I posted here to see if I could get data from real life examples, as the initial part of my project is to research different systems, compare, an analyse them.

Probably the best real-life case would be Galaxy, in Belgium. It was partly designed by Eric Desart, a forum member and world-class acoustician. Galaxy has the highest isolation of any studio on the planet, slightly in excess of 100 dB. It also has the quietest HVAC system of any studio on the planet: NC5. Pretty darn impressive on both.

These are the isolation mounts that Eric designed for the Galaxy control rooms:

galaxy-studio-best-in-world-SPRINGS-PHOTO-2.png

(I think that picture is actually copyright Eric Desart, but I hope he doesn't mind me using it here, for this purpose).

Those springs isolate down to about 4 Hz (resonance is 3Hz). There are 78 of those springs supporting each control room, and each room weighs 282 tons. It's pretty amazing, and considering that your hypothetical project needs similar isolation, a review of Galaxy might be a good place to start... .)


- Stuart -