Project Description
Overview
Committed to building a cohesive infrastructure for his hometown music scene, producer/ songwriter Jon Leidersdorff discovered an abandoned warehouse in downtown Asbury Park, and envisioned it as a multi-purpose center for a collective of music business locals. Investing his own savings and securing a Small Business Association loan from the local Community Bank, Leidersdorff called the Walters-Storyk Design Group to create Lakehouse Recording Studios as the lynchpin for the complex.
Program
Built in the 1920’s, and converted to a warehouse in the 1960’s, the building required a gut renovation to maximize its potential. Taking advantage of an opportunity to dramatically increase its flexibility, WSDG turned its 10,000 sq. ft. footprint into a 15,000+ sq. ft. structure. Instead of adding a new floor to the roof, the key to expansion was to ‘grow down.’ Eliminating the ground floor truck entrance, and dropping the floor 7 ½ feet enabled them to sink steel girders to support a 6” thick concrete slab at the 16 ft. height. This created an entirely new 5000 sq, ft, 2nd floor, which Leidersdorff split with primary tenant, the Lakehouse Music Academy (LHMA). This rock solid, acoustically isolated space was ideal for the recording studios, an apartment/lounge, and the school. The third floor became rehearsal rooms, and additional offices.
Design
Lakehouse Studios offers a 740 sq. ft. North Studio with a 400+ sq. ft. variable acoustics outfitted Live Room and a 440 sq. ft. Control Room capped by a customWSDG-designed, rectangular, fabric covered ceiling cloud with triangular wings. North Control features a vintage Neve 8024 Console, Augspurger GA115V Monitors, Protools HD 3 Accel and an extensive arsenal of outboard gear. The South Studio was designed with a 300 sq. ft. Control Room, SSL Matrix Console, Focal Twin6 BE and Yamaha NS 10 Monitors, Protools HD Native, a full complement of outboard gear and a 140 sq. ft. live room. Leidersdorff enlisted a number of like-minded, music-related locals to rent space in the building. Russo, a top independent music store; Bands On A Budget, a leading music merchandise shop; Holtz Video and Photography; CoWerks, a shared office space for music industry professionals; LHMA, an innovative music performance school and, to keep all the juices flowing, Mumford’s Café. Monmouth University has now signed on to do a weekly lab in the studio, and sessions are being booked with local, national and international artists. As realists and optimists, Lakehouse Studios is convinced their WSDG designed studio literally prepares them for anything.