WSDG receives double NAMM TEC Award studio design nomination

Two recently completed projects by the Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) have been nominated for the 2020 NAMM TEC Awards Outstanding Creative Achievement Award in the Studio Design Project category.

“We are pleased to have both Stitcher Studios and the Zhejiang Conservatory Of Music (ZJCM) nominated because they so beautifully illustrate the diversity of our client base,” said WSDG partner/director of business development, Sergio Molho. “We are especially excited about the prospects for winning our twelfth NAMM TEC Award, as we are beginning to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Founding Partner, John Storyk’s very first project, Electric Lady Studios for Jimi Hendrix.”

To date, 31 WSDG designed studios (including five multiple-entry nominations) have vied for TEC Awards since the event debuted in 1985. The company’s most recent win was the Boston Symphony Orchestra Control Room in 2017. It received the 2016 TEC for Paul Epworth’s The Church Studio in London, and the 2015 TEC for the Berklee College of Music, 160 Massachusetts Avenue complex in Boston, MA.

Stitcher’s 2000 sq. ft. podcast production studio is a key element of the firm’s 20,000 sq. ft. headquarters overlooking Manhattan’s Bryant Park. Stitcher provides a 360-degree suite of production, distribution and monetisation services to podcast creators, artists, entertainers and thought leaders.

Meanwhile, ZJCM, the Zhejiang Conservatory Of Music in Hangzhou, China, is one of the largest and most ambitious projects in recent WSDG history. Set on a 100-acre campus within an ultra-modern 8000 sq. ft. two story building, ZJCM’s 3200 sq. ft. live recording studio can host sessions of 100+ member orchestras. Its’ 26 ft. high ceiling is distinguished by an oval ceiling cloud which serves as both an acoustical treatment and a unique lighting element. The school’s live room is also used to record feature film scores and professional concert performances while providing students with real-world production experience.

WSDG-designed ZJCM Control Room from rear Photos by Josef Müller

“The fact that these two studio projects are so dissimilar in size and purpose makes our NAMM TEC Award Nominations all the sweeter,” Molho added. “It speaks not only to the diversity of these particular projects, but to the incredible breadth of our industry itself. We are living in extraordinary times and we work in an amazing field. We congratulate our fellow nominees, and are proud to participate in this wonderful event with them.”

Ballots for the online voting period (Nov 20 – Dec 31 2019) will be distributed online. The 35th Annual 2020 NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards will be presented on Saturday evening, January 18, 2020 in the Pacific Ballroom at the Hilton Anaheim Hotel.