In order to accommodate Harvard University's music program expansion to include professional quality recording and teaching studios, HMFH designed renovations to a portion of historic Paine Hall. The electroacoustic music composition program has very stringent acoustical requirements that call for vibration control, reduced sound transmission, and appropriate surface treatment as keys to a successful outcome. The renovation included replacement of light fixtures with silent alternatives and a virtually noiseless replacement heating and cooling system that was mounted on vibration isolators atop a new structural system. Within the studios, the recording room is a ventilated, vibration-isolated, acoustically neutral, room-within-a-room, with an adjacent control room.
All of this work took place with minimum impact to the historic, prominent building. Operable double glazed windows to seal out external noise were installed on the interior so that historic windows remain intact. Historic moldings were removed and reinstalled, new exhaust fans duplicate the originals and louvers are located within existing architectural recesses.