Sound Studio Construction: KQED Adopts Modular Approach
LOCATION
California, USA
INDUSTRY
Digital Multimedia Broadcasting
APPLICATION
Video Editing Rooms & Voice Over Booths:
SIZE
Video Editing Rooms: 12′ x 13′ each - Voice Over Booths: 5’-6’’ X 10’
STC RATINGS
STC 45
Challenge
KQED embarked on a transformative renovation to upgrade its San Francisco headquarters into a cutting-edge, community-focused hub. This strategic investment aimed to enhance content creation and community engagement, fueling KQED’s continued growth as a multimedia leader within the Bay Area. However, the renovation posed significant challenges, requiring the entire team to relocate temporarily while continuing to produce high-quality radio and television content.
How could KQED create the right technical spaces in a temporary location that lacked the necessary infrastructure, all while managing financial pressures?
KQED needed to:
- Overcome Production Disruption: Continue producing high-quality content during the extensive renovation
- Temporary Facility Limitations: Create functional technical spaces, including studios, in a temporary location that lacks proper infrastructure
- Financial Burden: Find a solution that is cost-effective for both their temporary and long-term needs
Solution
KQED chose MECART for its sound studio construction to address these challenges. The modular, relocatable design offered an innovative and cost-effective way to create high-quality technical spaces, saving both time and money.
Why Did KQED Choose MECART Modular Studios for its Sound Studio Construction?
- Flexible Usage: The studios could be used in both the temporary and permanent locations, ensuring that the investment was not wasted and could be adapted as KQED transitioned back
- Cost-Effective and Future-Proof: The modular approach reduced both construction time and costs while preserving value—MECART studios could be easily relocated, providing long-term utility
- Repurposable & Customizable: The studios were adaptable for various audio and video production needs, allowing flexibility for KQED to meet different production requirements
- Premium Acoustics: MECART delivered professional-grade acoustic quality, ensuring that even in a temporary setting, KQED’s content quality would not be compromised
MECART provided KQED with all the sound studios required for their post-production needs:
- 7 video editing studios
- 2 voiceover rooms
- STC 45 soundproofing for all studios, ensuring high-quality acoustic environments suitable for KQED’s production standards
This modular solution not only allowed KQED to maintain the quality of their content during the renovation but also ensured that their investment was future-proof and adaptable for years to come.
Learn more about our sound studio construction services by downloading our brochure or reaching out directly to one of our acoustics experts.
Revolutionizing Sound Studio Construction: The Rise of Modular Solutions
When building professional studios, numerous companies offer diverse products, but traditional stick-built construction has been the long-standing norm. However, its limitations have led industry leaders – including SiriusXM, LAAMP, Virginia Tech, Technicolor, MELS, Ubisoft, and KQED – to adopt modular construction.
Breaking Free from Traditional Constraints with Modular Studios
- Enhanced Flexibility with Relocatable Studios: Traditional studios are fixed and cannot be relocated, which limits adaptability. Modular studios, on the other hand, are relocatable, providing the flexibility to move and adjust to changing needs.
- Consistent Quality through Prefabrication: On-site construction is prone to errors, and even a small mistake can compromise crucial features like soundproofing. Modular construction uses prefabricated components, ensuring reliability and precision, and delivering consistent quality every time.
Read the article Why SiriusXM chose MECART for 4 of its sound studio constructions to learn more about the advantages of going modular.
Beyond flexibility and consistent quality, modular construction also offers a cost-effective solution compared to traditional construction. KQED’s experience demonstrated significant time and cost savings, making modular the smart choice for evolving content production needs.
Smart Sound Studio Construction: How MECART’s Modular System Paid Off for KQED
Opting for modular studios provided KQED with significant financial benefits, making MECART’s modular system a cost-effective and exceptional value-for-money solution. Modular studios offered KQED several cost-saving advantages, including:
Faster Operations: Reduced construction times meant KQED could start using the studios sooner, allowing them to continue generating content without interruption
Tax Savings: Modular buildings are often classified as equipment, allowing for accelerated depreciation, which reduces taxable income—an added financial incentive (varies by region or state)
Predictable Budgeting: Off-site manufacturing meant no surprise costs or hidden expenses, giving KQED the certainty they needed to stick to their budget
Flexibility and Reusability: The portability of modular studios ensured that KQED’s investment wasn’t lost when moving back to their renovated headquarters. Instead of abandoning their newly built studios in the temporary leased space, KQED relocated them, maximizing their value.
KQED’s decision to partner with MECART on their sound studio construction paid off, providing a solution that was both practical and future-proof. The success of this partnership is best captured in the words of KQED’s leadership.
Take the First Step to Your Sound Studio Construction Today
KQED’s Success Story: Executive Insights on Choosing Modular for Their Sound Studio Construction
David Hanson, executive director of media operations and facilities at KQED, echoes this sentiment, highlighting the benefits of modular construction in their recent project.
“Constructing acoustic environments from scratch is expensive and pretty permanent, so we saw these modular rooms as an opportunity to put together a relatively cost-effective way to build technical spaces and save a lot of time and cost in construction.”
Also, KQED realized significant cost savings by moving quickly from their temporary space to their newly renovated headquarters, instead of abandoning their newly built studios inside the leased space.
Hanson also praised MECART’s modular sound studios for meeting all their requirements.
“They’re easy to assemble, put together, they met our acoustic attenuation requirements, met our specification, they met our budget, and they were able to be delivered on time.”
Follow KQED’s lead by investing in MECART studios, designed to deliver efficient, relocatable, and future-proof solutions that maximize the value of your investment.
About KQED
Through Public Television, Public Radio, Interactive, and Education, KQED provides citizens with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions; convene community dialogue; bring the arts to everyone; and engage audiences to share their stories. KQED helps students and teachers thrive in 21st-century classrooms and takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration—exposing them to new people, places, and ideas. KQED celebrates diversity, embraces innovation, values lifelong learning, and partners with those who share our passion for public service.
