UC Kōawa Studios
The Kōawa Studios project involved the refurbishment of two existing buildings at the University of Canterbury, supporting the expansion of the Digital Screen Campus teaching facilities.
These upgrades support a growing demand for state-of-the-art learning environments for students in film, game development, music, and digital media. The Wairakei building houses a sound hub, with Dolby-certified sound mixing rooms, editing suites and recording studios. The Jack Mann building includes two professional sound stages, and a dedicated theatre used for film screenings and vocational teaching.
CLIENT
University of Canterbury / Warren and Mahoney Architects
LOCATION
Christchurch, NZ
COMPLETED
2024
Our Scope
MDA was engaged to provide full acoustic design services for both buildings. We developed practical, cost-effective solutions to meet the high-performance acoustic requirements of professional film and music production. Our team worked closely with the wider design team throughout the project. This collaborative approach ensured the completed spaces offer excellent acoustic environments that support a diverse range of creative disciplines.
A key focus was the room acoustics design of the recording studios. These spaces were designed for flexible use, including one studio functioning as a foley room. Combined with the rectangular layout, this required an innovative design approach. We developed a tailored solution from the ground up, working closely with the architects to design and coordinate 3D wall panels. These panels combine broadband absorption, diffusion, and specialised low-frequency absorption, resulting in recording spaces with balanced, well-controlled reverberation, ideal for high-quality production and postproduction work.
CHALLENGES
Working within the constraints of existing buildings and a tight project timeline, MDA’s experience in similar refurbishment projects, along with our collaborative design approach was crucial. We developed innovative, practical solutions tailored to the architectural and functional needs of the studios. The result is a suite of facilities with exceptional acoustic performance, which have been very well received by both faculty and students.
“...your work on this was outstanding. The studios sound fantastic because of your input. It’s not easy to impress our sound engineers, but you certainly have. We have a saying now, ‘it sounds like a Marshall Day room’...”
PROJECT TEAM
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