Tucked away in the hills of LA area, The Sound Cave is a custom-built recording environment where sonic precision meets architectural expression. Designed by Saez Pedraja Architects and Production Club. The project channels the shared grammar of music and architecture—rhythm, proportion, harmony, and form—to transform sound into space. The result is a space where music is not just created, but embodied.
The overall layout includes a main studio room, a vocal booth that also serves as a drum room, a compact bathroom, and a set of corridors that stitch the space together with a unified material and tonal language.
The centerpiece of the design is an interior cladding system made of [xxxx] individually laser cut and milled wood slats, which flow in a continuous wave along the perimeter of the main room. These curved elements are installed in front of a layered acoustic insulation assembly. Their form is not purely aesthetic—the varying spacing of the slats across three distinct height bands ensures an even diffusion of sound, the slates disperse acoustic energy before it reaches the isolation layer behind. The result is a space that offers both rich listening and acoustic containment.
Each slat varies in depth from [xx] to [xxx], calibrated to its position in the wave like shape. The total height of the system is [xxx] inches, with the exterior face built from 1” solid maple glued toa full-height Baltic birch panels, which remain hidden from view but essential to provide depth and rigidity
Breaking through this wavy envelope are 8 matte black MDF frames, custom-integrated into the slat geometry. These interruptions serve specific functions: housing the main speaker array, modular synthesizer walls, a service fridge, a view window that connects visually with the rest of the basement, and a concealed entry door.
A mounting system is discretely embedded behind the slats, allowing instruments and synthesizers to appear suspended across the walls. This detail allows the equipment to float like objects
The horizontal planes remain simple to enhance the effect of the slats. Underfoot, the floor is finished in troweled and polished cement, soft in tone and free of joints. Above, a black acoustic fabric stretches across the ceiling, concealing additional insulation and sound treatments. From this surface, a custom-designed acoustic “cloud” hovers over the desk.
At the rear of the space, a fully integrated sofa is carved into the slatted perimeter. Upholstered in lime-green bouclé fabric, the sofa reinterprets the architectural rhythm in textile form: vertical padded segments provide a touch of color and softness contrasts with the otherwise wood-and-black palette.
The studio’s custom desk and coffee table follow the same material logic. Built from matching maple and black MDF, both pieces echo the curves of the slatted envelope
he hallway acts as both a buffer and connects the main room to the vocal booth and bathroom shifts the atmosphere subtly. Here, the floor transitions to smoked solid walnut, . On one side, built-in cabinetry made from color-treated MDF offers storage, while the opposite wall is lined with perforated wood acoustic panels.
Inside the vocal booth, the language of slats returns in a simpler register. This time, the walls are clad in straight, vertically aligned Hemlock slats, again mounted in front of an acoustic backing. The result is an intimate, acoustically dry environment suited for isolated vocal or instrumental recording—while still remaining materially connected to the larger studio.
The bathroom departs most boldly from the primary space, offering a more industrial aesthetic. Plumbing fixtures typically used in commercial kitchens or service environments are recontextualized here to evoke the feeling of a backstage club. A custom mirror framed in stainless steel hovers above a built-in backlit panel of perforated metal. The room is wrapped with stainless steel-clad tile wainscoting for rawness and contrast.
CREDITS
Architect & Lead Designer
Juan Saez Pedraja / Saez Pedraja Architects
Creative Direction & Art Direction
Miguel Risueño / Production Club
Lighting Design
Production Club (TBD by Miguel Risueño)
Studio Equipment Integration
Production Club (TBD by Miguel Risueño)
Acoustic Consultant & Contractor
Dave Pepin / Omni
Engineer
Cristmar
Wood Slats Fabrication
Taus Woodworking
Furniture Design & Fabrication
John Ford / Mideco
Architectural Design Support, 3D Programming
Ignacio Espigares
Project Management
Anthony Holloway / AW Partners
Studio Equipment Supplier
Westlake Pro