The Art Institute of California Los Angeles

Santa Monica, California

The audio production teaching suite at the Art Institute in Santa Monica was built in response to a rapidly growing student population. The Art Institute, a large national educational institution with 37 locations across the country, offers curricula in design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts. The explosive growth of the department continues, with the number of students increasing significantly each semester.

The teaching studio was inserted into an existing 775 square foot classroom on the Santa Monica campus. Smaller than the typical studio spaces normally provided by the school for its audio production programs, the studio still maintains the level of quality and excitement common to the institution. Equipped with a state-of-the-art SSl console, the suite features a studio space and isolation booth besides the central control room.

The project was built in two phases for logistical reasons and allowed the students to experience the process and methods of studio building throughout their tenure. The interior finishes, added a few months after the shell was completed, reflect the school colors with red sound absorbing cotton pads on the walls and ceiling and black pre-finished plywood strip accents.