Would you have started from here ? The project to build a new space for the BBC's various live music requirements somewhere inside the M25 seems to make sense. But the site at Stratford is even more 'urban' than Maida Vale; it is tall and narrow, requiring studios to sit on top of one another, and it is clear from the brief given to acoustic specialists Buro Happold, keeping the noise in general 'out', and the noise between studios minimal, will have come at a price.
"The BBC’s design brief would demand maximum use from a relatively constrained site – with a rehearsing, recording and performance venue to accommodate an audience of 300 people, two large rock and pop studios, and a further 16 acoustically isolated spaces, including recording studios, control rooms and music practising rooms. Critically, all the spaces must be capable of being used simultaneously – making this building the only one of its kind in the UK where a symphonic hall sits vertically adjacent to recording studios for rock and pop music. While the orchestra is recording a symphony on one level, a rock band could be rehearsing just below their feet. Neither must be able to hear the other.
A further complication for our teams was the presence of the estate road for the site, which runs underneath the site, taking the V10 HGV diesel engines just metres away from where highly sensitive recording is taking place. It was essential that the interiors were successfully isolated from the sounds and vibrations from the road as well as the other studios. Another unusual client request for the space was that there should be natural light in the larger studio spaces in the interests of the wellbeing of the orchestra’s musicians. This posed further challenges when it came to acoustic isolation."
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