Photo: Gethsemane Studio
Soundzipper Acoustic Consultants : Adrian Lo | Julian Martinez | Johnny Lee | Liji Mohan
Soundzipper Project Manager: Gerald Khor
Audio system designers : Horus Studios
Video system designers : Expandore
The Challenge
Soundzipper was employed to perform acoustic analysis and construct a studio for the client. Gethsemane Studios is one of the biggest and best studios that Soundzipper has ever designed, in collaboration with Horus Studios and Expandore. The client wanted to create a combined audio and video production studio for their Bible Witness Media Ministry in their new media studio building. The studio was part of the long-term vision of the church to produce reformed, Christian literature and programmes.
The studio had to meet a high standard of sound isolation as the building was situated in a fly zone near a military airbase. Anyone could routinely hear jets flying by, measuring up to 100 dB of noise inside the studios.
The Design
The main focus in the acoustic design for the studio was to isolate airborne noise and vibration. A vibrationally-decoupled masonry and drywall construction was installed using Tecsound SY50 soundproofing membrane and Sylomer foam isolators. The floor was floated using Danosa Impactodan 5 polyethylene insulation. Doors were specially designed with cam lever handles to ensure an airtight seal into the studios.
The live room design philosophy was to create sonic interest at every space, providing good acoustics for recording small instrumental program and voice. To achieve this feat, we cascaded a series of slanted ceilings so that the “first reflection” characteristics of the sound would remain optimal even as we move from one position to another. Topakustik timber plank systems were installed in a slanted orientation to allow the instrumental sounds to be clearly reflected. Fabric panels with a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) of 0.9 and bass traps reduced bass aberrations and flutter echoes.
The control room featured a “reflection-free zone” design that was chosen for the studio monitoring system featuring ATC studio monitors specified by Leonard Fong from Horus Studios. To reduce bass problems from the ceiling, a sound absorbing ceiling cloud above the recording console was packed with 250mm of insulation, ensuring absorption down to the lowest frequencies. This was complemented with corner membrane bass traps and wall bass traps. First reflections were absorbed fully for voice recordings using 100mm thick acoustic fabric panels. Vicoustic Multifusor DC2 diffusors were placed at the back wall, rounding out the design.
The Results
We achieved a studio with low ambient noise and amazing acoustics. The client was amazed by the results and design of the studio, and they were more than happy to engage our acoustic soundproofing services for their other non-studio office areas.
