Gelert Post Production Studio: From Shell to Studio

Build the room before dressing it

This was a room-within-a-room build, not simply a decorative lining to a warehouse. Our existing construction photographs show the timber frame, insulation and first-fix work. The new exterior views make the relationship between the studio and the surrounding industrial shell especially clear.

The structure and the visible finishes have different jobs. Acoustic isolation addresses sound moving into or out of a room. Acoustic treatment addresses sound behaviour within it. A specialist studio brief needs both considered early, alongside the services and the way the room will be used.

The completed studio, now in use

The wide views show production workstations facing into the room, blue acoustic panels around the walls and a cinema screen with seating. Rather than an empty handover photograph, this is the space with the equipment and furniture that define its purpose.

That gives prospective clients a better picture of the result: not just an impressive room, but a working environment where the construction, the layout and the finishes have to support one another.

Resolve services before the panels go on

During the build, first- and second-fix services were coordinated with the timber structure before the acoustic panels and dark finishes were completed. It is the less photogenic part of the job, but it is where many avoidable problems are prevented.

A studio contains technical equipment, cable routes and maintenance requirements that cannot be treated as an afterthought. For a new project, we agree the specialist interfaces and responsibilities before construction rather than assuming they will fit around the joinery.

• ✓Confirm equipment positions and service requirements with the technical team.
• ✓Coordinate cable routes and penetrations with the acoustic specification.
• ✓Plan access for maintenance before closing walls and ceilings.
• ✓Agree specialist testing and handover responsibilities in the scope.

A place for clients as well as production

The tiered viewing platform was part of the original build. The finished photographs now show the screen and seating together, making the purpose of that platform much easier to understand. Production spaces also need to accommodate the people reviewing the work.

Sightlines, circulation and access are worth resolving on drawings. Lighting has a role too: it needs to support the room’s different uses without the finishing details becoming an obstacle to the technical brief.

What this means for your specialist fit-out

The main lesson from Gelert is to get the specialist requirements into the brief early. A studio, a quiet meeting room and a leisure venue can all need acoustic work, but they do not need the same construction or the same performance specification.

Tell us how the space will be used, what equipment it needs to hold and who is setting the acoustic requirements. We can help define the build scope and coordinate with your specialists. We will not promise a sound rating or technical certification without an agreed specification and evidence.

You can explore the project page for the finished photographs alongside the original construction sequence. Keeping both is important: the result shows what is possible, and the build photographs show what it took to get there.