New sound recording and postproduction facilities have been created at Winchester University – development that is part of a planned expansion of the facilities at the School of Media and Film. ‘Our ambition for the University of Winchester is to become a leading provider of sound and music education’ offers Professor Joy Carter, Vice Chancellor of Winchester University.
Winchester commissioned Veale Associates to review their proposals and, following consultation, to create the music and postproduction facilities dedicated to those training for a career in sound.
The project combines a five-room studio complex, including two 5.1 control rooms, two live rooms and an ADR/Foley room. The studios are located in the Bowers Building, part of their media facilities. The acoustic design kept the existing maple flooring and the high ceiling allowed for some expansive visual and acoustic designs in the large live room.
‘The ceiling height allowed us to be really creative with the design of the large live room,’ reports Veale Associates Creative Director, Eloise Veale. ‘We created the first acoustic diffuser that provides brilliant sound diffusion together with excellent low frequency control and is the first manufactured by the Italian Wood-Skin company installed in the UK. A flexible lighting system complements the design to create the atmospheric mood.’
Both control rooms feature an Audient ASP8024 Heritage Edition console, with Control 2’s desk being fully height adjustable – a first for Audient. Each console is accompanied by an Avid S3 system for integrated control of Pro Tools HDx and Logic. Focusrite’s RedNet Dante networking provides audio across the complex, with a rolling rack of RedNet4 I/O for remote location recording from anywhere attached to the university’s fibre backbone.
‘It was determined that two studios were be required to satisfy the student access demands and provide enough studio hours for research and development,’ says VA Technical Manager, Richard Liggins, after assessing the course structures and content. ‘For the technical specification, we chose monitoring by Amphion and Unity Audio, plus a wide rage of hardware and software dynamic and effects systems by SSL, Rupert Neve Designs, Universal Audio, Lexicon, dbx, Waves, TC Electronic, Drawmer, Warm Audio, Mäag Audio and Sound Toys to complete the technical design.’
‘We knew we needed to build an industry-leading recording studio’ says Paul Burridge Head of Projects and Estates Management. ‘Without doubt, Veale Associates were best placed to deliver this for us. Veale’s technical knowledge, familiarity with state-of-the-art recording equipment options and their consistent enthusiasm and support for the University’s ambitions allowed the project to be completed on time, on budget and to the highest standards. Veale Associates were consistently excellent partners to work with.’
‘Understanding the requirement for a versatile and robust project to meet industry standards and expectation is a key starting point,’ adds VA President, Eddie Veale. ‘Flagship facilities have become increasingly important in the education sector to attract, meet and exceed the expectations of students in an increasingly competitive sector.’
‘Veale Associates understood the Universities ambitions from day one, while appreciating the constraints on cost and time. They brought a wealth of industry and higher education experience to the project,’ Joy Carter concludes. ‘The concept from day one was to deliver not only first class education facilities from the visual perspective but studios fully equipped to deliver the key learning objectives while achieving the acoustic and technical criteria necessary for studios of this type. We couldn’t have done this without the professional and creative input from Veale’s leading people Eddie, Eloise and Richard. The outcome is visually stunning, well equipped functional facilities that fully meet the project brief delivered to quality, time and cost.’
