Mute Acoustics® designs and builds professional-grade recording studios for London’s commercial sector. As a division of Mute Group, it draws upon over 10 years of experience, delivering acoustical solutions for some of the largest brands in the music and entertainment industry, including Disney, Netflix and Nickelodeon.

This background, and accumulated expertise, is showcased here in the development of a cutting edge complex of recording studios and rehearsal rooms, at The Rattle, in London’s, Grade I listed, Tobacco Dock.

The Rattle, a grassroots music movement striving to reinvigorate the music industry, was formed by a collective of professional musicians, who provide up-and-coming artists with workshops, coaching and mentoring from the likes of Imogen Heap (Grammy Winning Artist), Steve Lewis (MD of Virgin Music & CEO of Chrysalis Music) and Sudha Kheterpal (Percussionist – Faithless, Ian Brown, Talvin Singh).

Fundamental to the project was a two-part feasibility study, to assess the venue’s suitability, in terms of supporting and interfacing with an acoustical system of works.

Part 1 involved measuring the sound insulation, across the audio frequency spectrum, provided by the existing building shell and internal partition walls. The data collected informed a specification of works, to control the residual sound passage (to avert noise disturbance), between the proposed studio spaces and the nearby offices and residential dwellings (as per the Rattle’s ‘projected’ Specific Sound Levels, off-set against day & nighttime Background Sound Levels).*

Part 2 involved carefully reviewing and revising the specification of works, in collaboration with the Rattle, Tobacco Dock and English Heritage, to demonstrate its deliverability, without compromising the Grade I listed structure.

*The assessment of the impact of noise is made by subtracting the Background Sound Level from the Rating Level (the ‘residual’ Specific Sound Level, with a character correction applied). Specifically, BS 4142 states:

“A difference of around +10dB or more is likely to be an indication of a significant adverse impact…

Where the Rating Level does not exceed the Background Sound Level, this is an indication of the Specific Sound source having a low impact…”