University Opens New White Mark Designed Audio Facilities

The University of Gloucestershire has invested heavily in its Music Technology provision by building a state of the art Sound Lab and dubbing theatre on its campus in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Acoustic design consultancy White Mark Ltd, which has extensive experience in the education sector, was recruited early on in the project to help the University write the technical specifications for the rooms. These were included in the tender process and adopted by tWO (a member of the Workplace Futures Group), when it was chosen to project manage and build the new facilities.

"Getting it right from the start is crucial for any project and we were delighted that the University of Gloucestershire adopted such a sensible approach to the design and build of their new facilities," said White Mark’s Managing Director David Bell. "By working closely with tWO, we ensured that these facilities properly met the needs of the end user. They also significantly outperform the ridiculously low standards set by building regulations which, sadly, many educational facilities still use as their only guide."

The University of Gloucestershire's new facilities are on the top floor of an existing building and isolating them from other teaching spaces was the main issue White Mark had to overcome.

Dr Matthew Lovett, the University of Gloucestershire's Academic Subject Leader: Music and Media, said: "We have music spaces underneath the new rooms so it was important to achieve full isolation across all of our work spaces. There were also some initial challenges in terms of ramp access for disabled students and creating a floating floor on an existing concrete structure. However, White Mark's design overcame these issues and we are delighted with the end result."

Dr Lovett added that the University initially contacted White Mark because the company has such a strong track record in studio design.

"After our first meeting we were very happy to include them in the tender process for the brief," he said. "The standard of their work is very high and their absolute professionalism came through from outset. We are also pleased with how quickly and smoothly White Mark and tWO pulled this project together – we started building at the end of May and the rooms were ready to use by the beginning of the new academic year."

The University's new Dubbing Theatre is being used to teach sound design and sound for screen media to students on its BA Animation, BA Film and BA Television degree courses along with MA Film Making. The studio, which has a separate vocal booth and can accommodate up to 20 people, is equipped with an Avid S3 desk and Genelec monitoring that can be configured for either 5.1 or 7.1 surround.

Sound Lab, the second new facility, has been developed for the University’'s BA Creative Music Technology course and the MA in Creative Music Practice. This large, flexible space can accommodate up to 50 people and has been isolated, acoustically treated and equipped with a special truss system so that 22 Genelec monitors can be mounted in any number of configurations, along with two subwoofers. This critical listening environment is ideal for students studying immersive audio, sound design, live streaming and spatial sound for VR. It is also a great space for students studying live sound as there is plenty of room to set up a PA system and desk.