1 September 2004
IAC PROVIDES
27 DIGITAL STUDIOS FOR BBC’S NEW £MULTI MILLION FACILITY
Operations Room for the English Regions Radio Suite |
In one of the biggest
studio projects the company has ever undertaken, Industrial Acoustics
Company (IAC) of Winchester, world leader in acoustic engineering, has
designed and installed 27 state-of-the-art digital studios for the BBC’s
new broadcasting centre at The Mailbox in Birmingham.
The purpose-built,
100,000sq ft facility replaces Pebble Mill and occupies 2 floors of a
building that also houses hotels, shops, restaurants and apartments. Providing
public access presented particular design challenges to the team: Building
Design Partnership (architects, structural and environmental engineers),
BDP Acoustics, and ISG Interior Exterior plc (management contractor) and
IAC.
Ian Rich, IAC’s
Business Manager, Studios said: "We won the tender in January 2002
against tough acoustic and aesthetic criteria. It was the low weight-loading
capacity of the building that brought the architects to us – and
our lightweight ‘Moduline’ product. It’s highly flexible,
and because each component is acoustically-rated, it gives great acoustic
quality as well."
Moduline is also a
self-supporting system that does not necessitate walls to be full height
between floor slabs so a space could be left above the studios for a service
void. Walls, floors and ceilings are constructed from 100mm thick acoustic
panels into which high performance Noise-Lock doors and windows and internal
tuner panels and acoustic plaques are fitted. Years of lab and field tests
meant the architects were guaranteed Moduline’s excellent acoustic
performance.
STUDIOS’
DESIGN
The 27 studios range
from Control/Editing Rooms, Voiceover Booths, Radio Studios and Post-Production
Suites through to a full-scale, state-of-the-art TV Studio.
Ian Rich again: "Each
acoustically-sensitive area is a ‘room-within-a-room’. Each
inner chamber has a floating floor supported on anti-vibration mountings.
Twin magnetic seal acoustic doors are integrated into the structure and
we custom designed the vision windows. Manufacture was complex as some
have glass up to 32mm thick and many needed low reflective properties."
A novel viewing window has been positioned between the BBC Foyer/Shop
and two Radio Studios: novel in that it is one window on the outside and
two inside. On the exterior it measures 4m long by 1m high.
ACOUSTICS
AND STYLE
Stylish and resilient
wood, metal and fabric acoustic plaques stand off the walls to accommodate
a tuning zone behind them which is filled with acoustic panel absorbers
and wrapped fibreglass. Ceilings are finished with sophisticated acoustic
metal tiles within a plasterboard perimeter and raised flooring throughout
facilitates technical wiring for the broadcasting equipment.
For the first time
in 30 years, Birmingham’s public will be able to view BBC radio
in action. The suite of six Radio Studios located around an Operation
Room in the centre has extensive glazing between studios and two windows
into the public area in the foyer.
Other acoustic rooms
include a four-studio Radio Suite, Audio Workshops, NPA & NCA Booths,
Finishing Suites, Foley Room and the Dubbing area.
DRAMA SUITE
– HOME TO ‘THE ARCHERS’
The Drama Suite is
perhaps the most exciting of all the studios. Home to the world-renowned
radio UK farming soap ‘The Archers’, IAC has supplied most
fittings needed for recording sound effects: carpet and hardwood flooring
areas; and ‘false’ doors and even sinks with running water!
TELEVISION
STUDIO AREA
The Television Studio
for BBC WM features scenery-size doors and a full depth acoustic glass
wall giving onto the News Room. This glass wall is 3.2m high by 8.5m wide
and incorporates a frameless glass door.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
IAC project managed
the design and installation of all 27 studios over 18 months. It took
25 Acoustic Fitters and 3 site managers to create this state-of –the-art
studio environment – a fitting home to the world’s best broadcaster.
For more information
on IAC studios contact ianr@iacl.co.uk + 44 (0)1962 873000
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