The Aim
The aim of the studio was to be able to both rehearse and eventually record a five-piece rock band inside the space. Thus it needed to serve as a dual purpose room. For this reason, I chose a single room design instead of the more classical Live Room + Control Room setup as this would have taken away valuable rehearsal space.
The Existing Garage
The existing building was a large double garage, built on an isolated concrete slab. It was constructed from a single skin of blockwork, clad in wood and tiled. The front right hand corner had been made into a wood storage shed (as seen below), thus creating a cut-out into the available space .
Main areas of consideration
Before setting out, I worked out the main requirements for the build that would need to be kept in mind at all times. Although it seemed overwhelming initially, as there was an infinity of details to consider, the four categories below would serve as the main design drivers throughout the build. They were as follows:
1) Acoustic isolation
Soundproofing, or, more accurately, Acoustic Isolation was a crucial concern. Thus, from the outset, a room within a room design was required. This involved constructing an entirely new building with walls, ceiling, floor inside the existing garage shell. The complexities associated with this should not be underestimated - a completely standalone structure is required!
2) Power/Lighting
A new fuse-box and mains connection to the main house would be required as the existing connection wouldn't be able to cope with the increased current demands. Multiple plug sockets were required, to accommodate all the music equipment. Ambient lighting was required to make the studio as productive/creative an environment as possible.
3) Ventilation
Given that the aim was to create a space that was as air-tight as possible (to aid with acoustic isolation), some form of ventilation would be required. This would need to be fairly powerful, and able to cope with 5 adults regularly rehearsing in the space.
4) Maximising internal space
In order to achieve as much as possible with the available space, several parts of the existing construction would need to be removed, including part of a dividing wall at the rear, and a storage platform at the front of the garage. The wall removal would prove to be a serious undertaking - more on both of these later on.