a studio for Swaziland

[mylesgm]

So begins the quest for the best studio solution for my NGO. Due to the problems of portability and such we are looking at building a portable recording studio and are considering options. The two main options are either a demountable/prefab structure or a shipping container. Having neither built or used either I'm looking for advice. Yes, I know about Sayers forum and I know about Mark Sparks' studio and I will be contacting them but I would like as much info as I can muster. Apart form the portability questions there are a few things that need to be said about the environment of Swaziland.
1. It needs to be secure and I'm not talking padlocks.
2. It needs to be well soundproofed for rain/thunder. There is a lot of both most weeks. Other metro noises are not usually a problem (cars/trucks/aircraft etc).
3. It needs to be reasonably airconditioned and as cheaply as possible because if you think electricity costs a lot in australia consider if you had a monopoly paying percentage of profits directly to major politicians.
4. Size, gear list is tiny though there needs to be enough room for 3-4 in the control room and 3-4 in the recording room.


Here are some of my thoughts on the points above:

Shipping container under a fabric netting carport (reduces both heat and rain noise)
Shipping container has high security (no external windows, complete with major bolts already)
Shipping container is easily transported.
Shipping containers are a little less common here and might be too small.

Demountable can be prebuilt to my specification within a predefined build and generally comes almost like a construction set.
Difficulty getting large amounts of high quality insulation.
Floor plans are flexible and generally larger.
Easy to modify over time.

ok, hit me with your best shot.

[Text_Edifice]

Just a quick thought from working in a similar low-resource environment - labour, particularly building labour, is much cheaper than materials. Is it possible to build something to spec rather than rely on prefab solutions?

I know you lose portability (probably) but it might work out cheaper to build something new down the track than having to transport the structure later.

Also - straw for insulation?

[mylesgm]

Just a quick thought from working in a similar low-resource environment - labour, particularly building labour, is much cheaper than materials. Is it possible to build something to spec rather than rely on prefab solutions?

I know you lose portability (probably) but it might work out cheaper to build something new down the track than having to transport the structure later.

Also - straw for insulation?

Labour should be cheap and we are considering have something purpose built. The portability is main thing here because it would be much easier to build something inside an already existing building but then we would be in the same situation in a few years when the organisation wants to move.

Straw is initially a good idea except for the need for it to be tightly packed (they don't use hay bales here and I don't think I can get ortech boards or similar though I am looking into that) and there is the high volume of space that it takes up. I'm still pursuing this line but am thinking that double walls of mdf will be more effective in terms of size and availability.

[Alistair]

Hey Myles, reminded me of a few things I saw on the Australian forum on GS a while back- quick search pulls up these-

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/photo-di ... tudio.html

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/gearslut ... -sale.html

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/australi ... iners.html


Might be worth contacting the guys that have already done it- looking at them you'll almost need a separate container for live room and control room.