WSDG’s Sonastério up for NAMM TEC Award

Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) has been nominated in the 2019 NAMM TEC Award’s Creative Studio Design category for its work on Sonastério, a studio carved into the mountains of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Early in 2015, Bruno Barros, a young musician/engineer completing his education at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA, decided to create a destination studio in Belo Horizonte. His family retained famed Brazilian architect João Diniz to design a luxury home overlooking the Minas Gerais mountain range, and also engaged Belo Horizonte-based WSDG partner/director of design, Renato Cipriano.

“Superb acoustics begin with geometry,” said Cipriano. “We worked hand in glove with the architect to ensure that every square foot was precisely calibrated. The high comfort level set the stage for an extraordinary recording experience.”

The 750 sq. ft. live room boasts a 20 ft. ceiling height, an 80 sq. ft. iso booth, panoramic mountain views, custom ceiling clouds outfitted with a pro lighting grid to facilitate video shoots, and a sunburst studio logo hand-painted over an acoustical broadband wall treatment. Inside the 420 sq. ft. control room is a SSL AWS 924 mixing console complemented by Augspurger Duo8 speakers with 12 in. subwoofers, a collection of outboard gear and systems integration by Ground Control.

Barros commented, “Sonastério Studios is a work of art in itself. More than just a recording studio, Sonastério is a house of creation designed to enhance the natural expressiveness of each artist. It is the result of a collaboration between João Diniz Architecture which has a wide portfolio of award-winning designs, and WSDG, Walters-Storyk Design Group, a world-renowned acoustic architecture design firm and multiple NAMM TEC Award-winner.”