Carriage Studio

The client, music mastering engineer Andrei Eremin commissioned the creation of a new acoustic space within the chassis of a decommissioned Met train. The project takes inspiration from the mystique around Bob Dylan’s studio in a VW kombi van that was at the centre of the creation of a generation of legendary music.

A flat acoustic response has been achieved in the metal tube that was a train carriage and full sonic isolation has been made possible by means of various multi-wall systems. The fitout presents as a moody sky-pod sensation intended to stimulate innovative music making and simultaneously augment this surreal Rolling Stock architectural setting.

The Carriage Studio is a stand-out technical achievement in terms of acoustic spatial transformation. Equally it seeks to establish an important cultural hub to attract and nurture emerging musical talent. The reputation of the projects emanating from the space are impossibly entwined with the street culture notoriety of the architecture that incubates them. This is a rare outcome for programmatic architecture. The didactic strength of this space as an icon of re-use has already inspired others to innovate with courage.

Ethereal Projects were contracted for the fitout works working closely with the client and the architect to achieve the required acoustic and ambience outcomes. Eliminating rattles and unwanted frequencies from this unusual audio compartment was done by means of an exhaustive iterative process. Painstakingly sealed high mass walling is concealed beneath various profiles of open-cell acoustic foam panels. Treatment of the acoustic space was undertaken relying on mathematical analysis and empirical testing to understand where to locate a range of absorption materialities throughout the volume.