The new building of Alexandra Audio will be the most modern, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly facility for digital audio recordings in Bulgaria. For the purposes of the digital audio recordings the building will meet the highest standards for acoustic comfort simultaneously with applying the Passivhaus standard concept.
The building has no basement. This is unnecessary for automobile parking in the particular case. Eliminating of underground construction reduces excavation, simplifies the concept of underground waterproofing, reinforced concrete works are reduced below the terrain surface. Thus limiting the investment costs.
On the ground floor of the building open parking for 13 parking lots is designed. Here is the main entrance of the building, a foyer with reception and technical premises.
The two main floors are designated for sound recording functions. The building has several groups of recording booths in combination with equipment for the directors and sound engineers. In addition, a series of mixing and mounting booths. Cinema mixing hall on the standards of Dolby Laboratories will be the most advanced technologically equipped on the whole Balkan peninsula. Administrative, technical and service facilities which will ensure comfortable work with the highest quality output.
Various advanced systems for sound insulation are applied for the needs of digital recordings such as non-proliferation of airborne and impact noise, reverb control, floating floors, specialized multilayer membrane walls, massive walls of solid ceramic bricks with plaster and many other methods to achieve the perfect parameters of the acoustic environment for the high quality sound recordings of Alexandra Audio.
A comprehensive strategy is applied to reduce energy consumption and achieve the highest thermal comfort and indoor quality in the building. This strategy is based on the passive house standard in combination with integrating of highly efficient modern recording equipment. Special attention to limit the thermal bridges in combination with the implementation of quality systems for thermal and acoustic insulation, passive house certified wood-aluminum windows with a special installation detail, perfect airtightness and Blowerdoor testing and passive house certified MVHR ventilation system. Cooling of the building will be achieved through free cooling machine with internal passive coolers and without the use of conventional fan coils.
The facade will be lined with ventilated facade cladding with fiber cement panels and on the surface of the roof floor titanzinc standing seam covering will be applied.
On 23th of January 2015 the construction permission was received. This started the official preparation for the construction works on site. Simultaneously with the work on the detailed design Studio APXE started the organization of the construction process and the selection procedure of builders and suppliers for the site. For the construction stage the studio is chosen for the complete project management and will provide quality, speed and compliance with the commitments, as well as strict adherence to the project and the budget foreseen.
The construction site was opened in the spring of 2015 and full completion of construction was expected within 18 months.
Sq. Area: 1300 m2
Designer: Studio APXE
Design Team: Lead architect: Georgi Nikolov, project architect Boshko Takov
Investor: Alexandra Audio Ltd.