NEW YORK: In developing a NYC flagship site for live and on-demand, indoor cycling classes, the Peloton brain trust recognized the need for a cutting edge video broadcast studio for the streaming element of their visionary program. Company co-founders, CEO, John Foley, COO, Tom Cortese and Marion Roaman, (an indoor cycling pioneer), engaged Walters-Storyk Design Group for the acoustic and isolation design of a broadcast-quality production facility with studio lighting and systems integration. The resulting Production Control Room (PCR) and 60-bike TV Studio is a key component of the 8000 square foot complex. Located at 140 West 23rd Street in NYC, Peloton Chelsea also features spa-quality ambience, a refreshment lounge and, a sports fashion retail shop.
“Peloton presented us with a multi-faceted assignment,” reports WSDG Principal/ Director of International Relations, Sergio Molho. “They required a state-of-the-art production studio to stream live (and recorded) indoor cycling classes to Peloton enthusiasts around the globe. The studio had to be technically flawless and aesthetically striking. Users will enjoy it in operation through the global Peloton Cycle video network.”
WSDG Project Manager Joshua Morris, emphasizes Peloton management’s deep concerns about sound leakage. “Music and instructor audio levels have to be inspirationally loud for this type of installation, and the complex is built on the ground floor of a mixed use business/residential wood framed building,” Morris says. “The neighbors living directly above the cycling classes had to be isolated from intrusive sound. This was achieved via recording studio-style, room-within-room construction for the 1500 sq. ft. Indoor Cycling/Streaming Studio. The Peloton team did their homework and were fully aware of WSDG’s expertise in this area.”
The Peloton production facility introduces a new level of broadcast quality video through the Internet. The space is tailored to enhance the image quality of the webcast while maintaining the requisite fitness ambiance for the in-house indoor cyclers. The 300 sq. ft. Production Control Room sports a state-of-the-art Newtek Tricaster production switcher and a Telemetrics robotic camera controller connected to 3 Sony PTZ cameras and a Telemetrics track and PTZ camera which provides high end and ultra steady camera moves and shots. PCR video display is provided by two 55” LCD monitors. The audio system is run by a fully-automatable Biamp Nexia console coupled with a Martin Engineering DSP, Genelec monitor and Sennheiser wireless microphones. The lighting system is controlled by LightJockey™ via a Windows-based USB to DMX interface. Ipod docks and a full-blown Nexo line array complete the equation in the Indoor Cycling Studio for unrivaled audio quality from the beginning to the end of the chain.
Peloton CEO and Co-Founder John Foley remarked, “Our goal was to ensure our on-site classes of crystal clear audio and, to provide our at-home constituents with Network-quality audio and video streaming. We were also committed to being good neighbors and, to protecting building residents from intrusive sound from our studio. WSDG has designed broadcast studios for ESPN, WNET and MTV Latin America. They’ve provided exemplary acoustics for such performance venues as Jazz At Lincoln Center and 54 Below, and their recording studio clients include Jimi Hendrix, Alicia Keys and Bruce Springsteen. We knew we were in good hands, and we are confident that our on-site, and at home, enthusiasts will benefit greatly from our efforts to provide them with the ultimate in fitness connectivity.”
###
Photos: 1 Peloton Indoor Cycling Studio
2 Peloton Production/Control Room
3 Peloton Chelsea Exterior
Walters-Storyk Design Group has designed over 3500 media facilities worldwide. Credits include Jimi Hendrix’s 1969’s Electric Lady Studios; NYC’s Jazz At Lincoln Center and Le Poisson Rouge; broadcast facilities for The Food Network, ESPN, and WNET; major education complexes for NYU and Berklee College of Music Boston and Valencia, Spain; media rooms for Hoffman La Roche, and other corporate clients. Recent projects include NYC’s TEC award winner Jungle City Studios and private studios for Green Day, Jay-Z, Timbaland’s Tim Mosley, film composer Carter Burwell, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys. WSDG principals John Storyk (an adjunct professor at Berklee College,) Beth Walters, Sergio Molho and Dirk Noy lecture frequently at universities and industry events, and contribute regularly to industry publications.WSDG has collaborated with such noted architects as Frank Gehry, Rafael Vinoly, Norman Foster, Oscar Niemeyer, Phillipe Stark and Nicholas Grimshaw. WSDG is a seven-time winner of the prestigious NAMM TEC Award for outstanding achievement in Acoustics/Facility Design. The firm maintains offices in NY, SF, LA, Miami, Buenos Aires,Belo Horizonte, Basel, Beijing, Barcelona, Mexico City, St,. Petersburg and Mumbai.
