WSDG Design For Upstate NY Showplace
NEW YORK: Set on a 300-acre horse farm/vineyard in Upstate New York, World Harmony Studios is a high-end destination studio; geared to accommodate a wide range of theatrical, feature film and music recording projects. Owned by producer/ businessman Samuel Nappi, and designed by architect/acoustician/WSDG co-principal John Storyk, the 2500 sq. ft. complex integrates cutting-edge technology within an impeccable acoustic footprint.
Built into a 3-story, 4500 sq. ft. redwood lodge/guest house, the 2500 sq. ft. complex includes a custom-built 700 sq. ft. ‘live/screening room,’ a 300 sq. ft. control room; 120 and 220 sq. ft. iso rooms a lounge and a full bore tech support system. The guesthouse offers a comprehensive range of comfort-focused amenities including a gourmet kitchen.
“To take advantage of its pastoral setting, we incorporated as much glass as possible throughout the studio,” WSDG project manager Joshua Morris
reports. “We’ve had great success in ‘floating’ main speakers within custom glass walls to improve visibility between control and live rooms. World Harmony is a prime example of this new design development. Our room-tuning specialist, Dave Kotch reports the response times and overall room sound to be as good as any he has ever heard. By deploying custom clear glass low frequency diffractals to the windows at the rear of the control and live rooms we accentuated the views, including the Adirondack Tug Hill plateau.”
World Harmony is outfitted with an SSL AWS924 Hybrid Console; Adams S4X-V mains; AS 2-way active Studio Monitor; ABX Playback and SUB 10-MKII Subwoofer; and an AVID Protools-HD2 ACCEL-PCIE HD Audio Workstation. The outboard gear arsenal includes: TC Electronic System 6000 reverb; Aviom AN16i and 16D-Pro Headphone input and distribution; Neumann, Royer, AKG, Shure, Electro-Voice and Sennheiser mics; Antelope Engineering Isochrone OCX Master Digital Clock; Waves Platinum and SSL TDM bundles, and the Eventide-Anthology II Plug-in Bundle. WSDG system integration specialist Caroline Feldmeier developed the studios’ comprehensive, easily accessed wiring program
“Our studio was designed to accommodate a particularly diverse list of projects, all with a social consciousness mindset,” Samuel Nappi said. “We are currently producing a feature film based on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. in conjunction with DreamWorks, Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones. We are also co-producing a Broadway show based on the original Woodstock Festival, with Michael Lang. And, two other musicals, Prometheus Bound with Steven (Spring Awakening) Sater and Serj (System Of A Down) Tankian, which just closed at the American Repertory Theater; and The Gift of the Magi with Sater and Burt Bacharach.
“World-class acoustics and technology were a priority,” Nappi adds. “WSDG’s track record was exceptional. Our initial meeting with John Storyk convinced us that he had the skill set to create a unique studio. Our maiden session was a date for The Syracuse Symphony. Everyone, from engineer Stuart White to the musicians was impressed with the studios’ sound, look and functionality. It has surpassed all our expectations.”
“It was clear from the beginning of this assignment that World Harmony will be a very active studio,” John Storyk remarked. “Sam has a full slate of ambitious and quite meaningful projects on his To Do List. It will be very interesting to see the impact this studio has on the contemporary entertainment scene. We are very pleased to have played a role in its development.”
Photo Captions:
World Harmony Studios view from Control Room towards ISO booth
World Harmony Studios Live Room
Photos by Kelly Stremmel
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The Walters-Storyk Design Group www.wsdg.com has designed over 3000 media production facilities in the U.S., Europe, the Far East and Latin America. WSDG credits range from the original Jimi Hendrix Electric Lady Studio in Greenwich Village to NYC’s latest showplace complex Jungle City; The Jazz At Lincoln Center performance complex, broadcast facilities for The Food Network, Interlochen Public Radio, CBS and WNET, and corporate clients such as Hoffman La Roche. Recent credits include private studios for the Goo Goo Dolls, Jay-Z, Timbaland’s Tim Mosley, Tracy Chapman, film composer Carter Burwell, Aerosmith; Green Day, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys. WSDG principals John Storyk, Beth Walters, and Dirk Noy lecture frequently at universities and industry events, and contribute regularly to industry publications. WSDG is a six-time winner of the prestigious TEC Award for outstanding achievement in Acoustics/Facility Design. The firm maintains offices in NY, SF, Argentina, Brazil, Beijing, Germany, Mexico City and Switzerland.
