A custom-built recording environment where acoustics shape architectural expression. The project channels the shared grammar of music and architecture—rhythm, proportion, harmony, and form.

The overall layout includes a main studio room, a vocal booth that also serves as a drum room, a 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 1,100 individually CNC 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 and the varying spacing of the slats across three distinct height bands ensures an even diffusion of sound, the slats disperse acoustic energy before it reaches the isolation layer behind. The result is a space that offers both rich and precise listening and acoustic containment.

Each slat varies in depth calibrated to its position in the wave like shape. The total height of the system is 10’, with the exterior face built from 1” solid maple glued to a 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.

The horizontal planes remain simple to enhance the effect of the wall slats. 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 and across the middle axis of the room.

At the rear of the space, a custom fully integrated sofa is built 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

The hallway acts as a buffer and connects the main room to the vocal booth and bathroom. 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, exploring underground aesthetics. Plumbing fixtures typically used in commercial kitchens or service environments are recontextualized here to evoke the feeling of a backstage club. The custom mirror framed in stainless steel has a built-in backlit panel of perforated metal. The room is wrapped with stainless steel-clad tile wainscoting for rawness and contrast.

CREDITS

Architect & Designer

Juan Saez Pedraja / Saez Pedraja Architects

Art Direction & Designer

Miguel Risueño / Production Club

Studio Equipment Curator

Production Club

Lighting Design

Production Club

Architectural Team /3D Programming

Ignacio Espigares

Construction Project Management

Anthony Holloway / AW Partners

Photography

Ignacio Espigares

Studio Equipment Integration

Production Club

Acoustic Consultant & Contractor

Dave Pepin / Omni

Structural Engineer

Cristmar

Wood Slats Fabrication

Taus Woodworking

Furniture Fabrication

John Ford (desk and coffee table)
Mideco (built in seat)

Studio Equipment Supplier

Westlake Pro

RECORDING STUDIO, LOS ANGELES