For projects in Zurich
Recording studio acoustics and soundproofing in Zurich
Two jobs that must not be confused: keeping the building out, and making the room honest inside. The first is mass and decoupling and has to be built first. The second is absorption and diffusion and can be tuned later. A serious recording culture where measured targets and absorption data are expected rather than adjectives.
- Isolation
- A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought.
- Low frequency
- Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam.
- Early reflections
- Controlled at the mix position, and only there.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / What it is
The product, described honestly, for a Zurich brief
Two jobs that must not be confused: keeping the building out, and making the room honest inside. The first is mass and decoupling and has to be built first. The second is absorption and diffusion and can be tuned later.
A serious recording culture where measured targets and absorption data are expected rather than adjectives.
Work reaching us from Zurich is mostly banking and professional offices, industrial conversions, apartments, clinics, restaurants, studios.
- Confidentiality is the requirement On a banking or professional floor the question is not comfort, it is whether a conversation leaves the room. Absorption plus a proper partition and door detail is what delivers that.
- Industrial conversions in the west Old industrial buildings give superb volume and terrible acoustics. Hard shells, big cubic volume and nothing soft, so the ceiling plane has to carry the whole room.
- Depth costs real money here Zurich floor area is among the most expensive in Europe. A thinner build-up that performs is worth more than a thicker one that performs slightly better.
- Isolation A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for studio soundproofing are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Zurich.
02 / The build-up
The build-up, layer by layer
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Layer 1
Acoustic foam and BassBloc
Open cell foam shapes for high frequency control, and BassBloc, a high density absorber built for the low mid range where ordinary foam does nothing. In Zurich, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery is standard, so duct and terminal unit noise are the sources.
Behind a fabric frame. Where the room has to look finished, absorber inside a frame rather than foam on show.
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Layer 2
SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl
A limp, high density sheet that adds mass to a partition, floor or duct without adding depth. In Zurich, concert halls, church buildings and civic rooms are long-decay volumes where interventions must be reversible.
Floor, floating. Membrane under a resilient layer and a floating deck, so impact energy is broken before it reaches the slab.
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Layer 3
Soundproof curtains
A layered curtain with a mass loaded vinyl core, used where an opening has to stay an opening. In Zurich, school buildings are built to a high standard with hard cleanable surfaces, so rooms stay live and intelligibility is the target.
Track with a seal. Ceiling track plus a floor seal or drape, so the perimeter is closed when it is drawn.
If you are specifying for a Zurich project, we can give you a section, a BOQ and the honest limits of each layer. See how we support architects.
03 / Local conditions
What decides the build-up in Zurich
- Confidentiality is the requirement
On a banking or professional floor the question is not comfort, it is whether a conversation leaves the room. Absorption plus a proper partition and door detail is what delivers that.
- Industrial conversions in the west
Old industrial buildings give superb volume and terrible acoustics. Hard shells, big cubic volume and nothing soft, so the ceiling plane has to carry the whole room.
- Depth costs real money here
Zurich floor area is among the most expensive in Europe. A thinner build-up that performs is worth more than a thicker one that performs slightly better.
- Trams and dense streets
Ground level trams put low frequency into the structure. That is a structural isolation question, and panels on a wall will not answer it.
- The housing stock
Concrete and masonry construction built to a high standard, with good mass and very hard internal finishes.
- The studio and content scene
A serious recording culture where measured targets and absorption data are expected rather than adjectives.
04 / Room by room
Space by space, for Zurich briefs
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Isolation
A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. On a banking or professional floor the question is not comfort, it is whether a conversation leaves the room. Absorption plus a proper partition and door detail is what delivers that.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, 2100 kg per cubic metre
- Acoustic panels, 1800 x 900 mm, image printed into the felt rather than onto a facing
- Soundproof curtains, 5.5 kg per sq m
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Low frequency
Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam. Old industrial buildings give superb volume and terrible acoustics. Hard shells, big cubic volume and nothing soft, so the ceiling plane has to carry the whole room.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 30, 5.25 kg per sq m
- Acoustic panels, Cut pattern in PET felt, adds visual rhythm without changing the absorber
- Soundproof curtains, Up to 30 dB
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Early reflections
Controlled at the mix position, and only there. Zurich floor area is among the most expensive in Europe. A thinner build-up that performs is worth more than a thicker one that performs slightly better.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 34, 8.4 kg per sq m
- Acoustic panels, ASTM C423
- Soundproof curtains, 30
Designers get colour, pattern and CNC options with the absorption figure attached to each. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Durability
The Zurich climate decides the material list
Zurich is cool and damp, with long heating seasons and cold external walls, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
Cold wall build-ups and long heating seasons mean interstitial condensation is a real risk behind any lining. PET felt is unaffected by damp air and will not feed mould where a fabric-faced mineral product would.
The failure we design against here is condensation behind linings in older, poorly insulated stock.
On a Zurich job with a consultant involved, our part is material that matches the submitted data. See working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Worth knowing
The six errors that cost the most
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Buying foam to solve an isolation problem
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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Treating the room before the shell is isolated
Small on the drawing, expensive on site, and almost always found after handover.
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Killing the room completely and calling it controlled
We would rather calculate the area and sell you less of it than line every surface and call it thorough.
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Treating it as a generic Zurich job
On a banking or professional floor the question is not comfort, it is whether a conversation leaves the room. Absorption plus a proper partition and door detail is what delivers that.
05 / Logistics
Getting it to Zurich, with real dates
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Rotterdam or Antwerp, then rail into Zurich |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Rotterdam, then rail |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
Sea freight into Rotterdam or Antwerp, then rail into Zurich. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Zurich projects
What makes recording studio acoustics and soundproofing different in Zurich?
A serious recording culture where measured targets and absorption data are expected rather than adjectives. On a banking or professional floor the question is not comfort, it is whether a conversation leaves the room. Absorption plus a proper partition and door detail is what delivers that.
Where should the budget go first on a Zurich project?
Isolation. A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. Low frequency. Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam.
Do you have an office or installation team in Zurich?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Zurich. We give you drawings, build-ups, a BOQ and material that arrives complete, and we will tell you plainly when a job needs a local contractor we cannot be.
How does material get to a Zurich site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Rotterdam or Antwerp, then rail into Zurich, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
What goes wrong most often on this kind of project?
Buying foam to solve an isolation problem. Treating the room before the shell is isolated.
What do you need from us to quote?
A plan, a section through the critical partition or ceiling, and what the room is for. From that we can give a build-up and a BOQ rather than a price per square foot.
Next step
Tell us the room, we will tell you the build-up
Send what you have. We will give you a layer by layer build-up, a bill of quantities and a date material lands, and we will flag anything in the brief that will not achieve what you want.