Walters-Storyk Design Group

WSDG is the Walters-Storyk Design Group, a Highland, NY-based acoustic architecture firm which designs recording studios and other acoustic spaces. John Storyk, the firms founding principle, designed Jimi Hendrix' studio Electric Lady Studios in 1969 and this led to a highly successful career in studio design that has spanned over three decades.

WSDG architects and engineers provide design, construction, and consulting services for professional audio/video facilities, multi-media presentation rooms, residential home theaters, performance/entertainment spaces, houses of worship, industrial acoustical applications, product development, transportation facilities, sports venues, and numerous other types of projects.

The company has offices in New York, Switzerland, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Its founders, John Storyk and Beth Walters have created a collaboration based on extensive careers in design specializing in acoustics, broadcast, architecture, production and the performing arts. Founded by John Storyk in 1968, as John Storyk Design Inc., and with the addition of Beth Walters in 1988, the firm was renamed The Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG). Originally based at Union Square in New York City until 1990, the New York office has now relocated upstate. WSDG has been responsible for the design of more than 2500 production, broadcast and performance facilities around the world.

WSDG has won a number of awards and citations in numerous publications, including winning five "Mix" magazine TEC Awards since 1991. The WSDG team has worked on projects for more than 30 years. It is a focused team with a strong belief in a cooperative design philosophy, having experience working successfully with numerous architects, developers, technical system integrators and builders. WSDG is dedicated to the highest quality in audio and video for the performing arts and media production community.

John Storyk
John Storyk has provided design and construction supervision services for the professional audio, broadcast and video community since his 1969 completion of Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios. He completed his architectural and acoustical engineering studies at Princeton and Columbia Universities and John is a licensed architect in New York State. He has been responsible for the architecture and project management for over 2000 acoustical design projects worldwide. These projects include world-class audio recording studios; media/broadcast production and educational facilities; high-end home theaters; state-of-the-art conference facilities; and multi-use performance spaces. John is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Audio Engineering Society. He is a frequent contributor to AES convention papers and professional magazines. He is the author of the acoustics course, as well as the Director of Acoustics and Studio Design at Full Sail Center for Performing Arts. A more advanced course was developed for Ex'pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, California, where he also assumed the role of course director. In 2005, and again in 2006, Berklee College of Music offered him an adjunct professorship for the course "Acoustic Design for Studios". He has taught similar/lectures at the University of Colorado, Denver; the Community College of New York (CCNY); Oberlin University and the University of Miami.

Beth WaltersBeth Walters is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology with two degrees, A.A.S. in Textile Design and a B.F.A. in Product Design. Her construction experience comes with having been on the Gallery's exhibit and installation staff at the Fashion Institute for over 10 years. From 1982-1988, Beth also was the display and merchandising director for such noted home furnishing fabric firms as Boris Kroll Fabrics, Greff Fabrics and Design Tex Fabrics. From 1978 to 1982, Beth was Head Designer for Il Est La, a company which designed and imported wicker products and handicrafts coordinating with hand crafted fabrics. Ms. Walters coordinated these products with a new concept of satellite cross merchandising within specialty shops. Beth is a founding partner and principal of Walters-Storyk Design Group and provides all of its interior design services as well as CEO responsibilities.

Other key elements and partners in this company are Sergio Molho and Silvia Molho (Argentina), Renato Cipriano (Brazil), Dirk Noy, Gabriel Hauser (Switzerland), Nacho Rettally, Mike Moreno and Martin García (Mexico).

DESIGN AND CONSULTINGWalters-Storyk Design Group specializes in audio/visual Architectural Design and Planning. WSDG has been a part of many architectural teams and asked to provide solutions and procedures for all types of acoustic and electro-acoustic problems. The company's designers and engineers are experts in the field of internal and external acoustics, with extensive experience in multiple fields of acoustical, architectural and A/V technology research.

ROOM ACOUSTICS AND SURFACE TREATMENT"Room Acoustics" refers to the behavior of sound in rooms and to the design of rooms with respect to acoustical quality. A desired acoustical environment varies according to the type of activity that is to take place in that environment. Recording, mastering, stereo or surround mixing, speech and music playback can require different or variable acoustic environments. Room Acoustics is the practice of studying and designing these environments. Over the past decades, the science of room acoustics has made significant advances. WSDG has been at the forefront of many of these advances and maintains a research program, constantly improving upon the state of the art.

WSDG uses complex prediction and analysis software to model and study the behavior of sound in three dimensional space and has also pioneered the use of acoustical modeling tools and auralization for media facility design. The placement of surface treatments and special acoustic materials significantly affects in-room hearing conditions. For example: sonic integrity in a recording studio, reverberation characteristics in an auditorium, and speech intelligibility in a conference room. WSDG provides services to determine room acoustics criteria, surface treatment recommendations, detailed measurement and analysis and professional liaisons to manufacturers of acoustical products.

ACOUSTIC TESTING AND MEASUREMENTThe quantification, qualification and analysis of acoustical parameters are critical for all acoustical phenomena in all kinds of environments. Measurement of time and frequency domain criteria of a room-loudspeaker-system, analysis of reverberation characteristics and background noise levels in a room, or quantifying the sound isolation of a boundary system are all critical to facilitate and increase the effectiveness of the design or remodeling process. WSDG's engineers use sophisticated measurement equipment, the most up-to-date acoustical data-collection and analysis software, and complex visualization tools to determine and optimize existing acoustical conditions. WSDG specializes in collecting required measurement data for documentation (technical or legal purposes) and presents a useful interpretation of measurement results and their consequences.

HVAC NOISE, TECHNICAL LIGHTING, VIBRATION CONTROL Any audible noise from mechanical and electrical systems will detract from (and mask) the sound of a performance, a recording or any form of media playback or presentation. Therefore, noise from mechanical systems that travels through ductwork as well as through walls and floors has to be controlled and minimized. WSDG establishes noise criteria for each space, prepares guidelines for the mechanical engineer and offers complete HVAC design services for technical facilities to assure that the noise criteria are met. Technical lighting that is quiet and ergonomic is a key ingredient to a well-planned space.

SOUND ISOLATIONIn any acoustical environment, the impact of outside noise and vibration sources (traffic, subways, trains, aircraft) and in-house noise and vibration sources (room-toroom transmission, HVAC systems) has to be carefully studied and then minimized for production, comfort, and privacy reasons. WSDG provides acoustical measurement, analysis and design services to determine the acoustical performance of existing or to-be-built wall, ceiling and slab constructions. Construction descriptions for wall and slab assemblies, specifications, details for special acoustical isolation joints, room-within-room construction, and on-site inspections are provided to ensure effective sound isolation.

AUDIO/VISUAL SYSTEMS DESIGN AND INTEGRATIONIn today's world of increasingly complex technical media installations, multi-functional devices and computer controlled sound and video systems, the integration of all equipment pieces into a working system is a complex engineering task. With the goal to make the A/V system operable by personnel with differing needs and technical know-how, the end-user interface design often requires custom solutions. WSDG provides sound system designs compatible with the overall acoustical design, including specifications and, if required, contract drawings to assure effective sound systems. Designs include sound reinforcement and complete media systems for A/V studios, theatres, auditoriums, clubs, private residences, and performance centers. AUDIO/VISUAL SYSTEMS DESIGN AND INTEGRATION