Cincinnati Public Radio (WVXU/WGUC/WMUB) has fed listeners in Southwest Ohio, Southeast Indiana and Northern Kentucky a steady diet of top-tier journalism and engaging cultural programming since first going on-air in1960. In 2018, the organisation committed to an ambitious transformation of its HQ in the form of a new, two-storey facility that would provide them with more modern technical capabilities and event programming spaces. WSDG led the design, construction and A/V systems integration team assembled for the project.
Comprising architect Emersion Design, construction manager Skanska USA, California-based A/V integrator ProCraft Audio, structural engineering company Schafer and MEP engineers CMTA, this team aimed to meet these goals, as well as setting new high standard of community engagement and environmental responsibility.
‘Our new HQ needed to have an overarching emphasis on quality, responsibility and transparency for our listeners,’ says Cincinnati Public Radio President, General Manager and CEO, Richard Eiswerth.
‘It was about having a message of being forward-thinking in all aspects – the technology, the visibility to our listeners and sustainability in terms of facility construction.
‘It is a public space, and we wanted that reflected in its design and interior feel,’ he continues. ‘This is also the first modern mass timber building in Greater Cincinnati – and perhaps the first mass timber broadcast facility in the nation. We’re extremely proud of that and wanted that aspect to be front and centre as well.’
WSDG employed various techniques in acoustic isolation and treatment to promote suitable sonic environments in all areas of the building – from a calm working atmosphere in the offices, to a lively but controlled atmosphere in the performance and shared community performance spaces.
‘Emersion Designs’ extensive use of glass inside and out really epitomised an open design approach, and we sought to match that with a complementary acoustic atmosphere in each space,’ says WSDG Partner and COO, Joshua Morris. ‘Each “zone” has its own unique sonic feel that is appropriate to how it is used, and interacts perfectly with any needed A/V integration – from the distributed A/V of the office spaces to critical listening in the audio production spaces.’
As the facility would occupy a new, ground-up build, this allowed a very different production environment than the CPR team was used to. The space and community-forward focus of the new HQ inspired a very public, forward-facing work environment that would emphasise multiple production spaces with a high degree of visibility and accessibility.
‘We really sought a more welcoming production space after our experience in our previous facility that was fairly contained and not very friendly to the public,’ says Cincinnati Public Radio VP of Engineering, Don Danko. ‘WSDG built off of Emersion Designs’ concepts for doing so within the production spaces, and was able to create something with ProCraft that suited our needs perfectly’
‘The idea is really to elevate the experience in these production areas,’ Morris agrees. ‘We sought to create a comfortable place for creativity that would allow the entire creative community around CPR – DJs, audio engineers, musicians, interviewees – to shine and sound their best.’
The heart of Cincinnati Public Radio is its two on-air studios, dual interview studios with corresponding control rooms, and a large performance studio. The studio can be used for anything from large ensemble performances to rock bands, and film scoring to film screenings. It also features a full production lighting set-up for video. Following in the footsteps of other ambitious public radio studios, the organisation intends to use these capabilities to create a strong footprint of video streaming for all manner of music, theatre, and video content, supported from the adjacent Video Control Room. All spaces use ‘room-in-room’ construction in order to prevent sound transmission between areas.
In addition to the audio production spaces, there are separate video and immersive-capable audio control rooms that can be routed around the facility as well as be used to turn CPR’s public gathering spaces into additional recording areas. The video production system is able to be operated from this central location, with cameras installed around the facility.
The design for the A/V systems progressed markedly from WSDG’s initial brief, with specifics honed by WSDG and Procraft together with the Cincinnati Public Radio production staff as they came to embrace a more ambitious scope of present and future production possibilities. ‘This whole process was an incredible collaboration with all of our partners,’ states Morris. ‘The end result is a facility that is state-of-the-art, with ample room to grow and evolve as technology and radio trends move forward.’
‘The entire atmosphere and integration between the functional areas and office spaces is completely seamless,’ Eiswerth says. ‘It’s been a very positive change for us all psychologically to be in such a welcoming space. It completely exceeded our expectations and the early response from everyone performing and recording in the production areas is the same – I can’t wait to come back here to record.
‘The word is out, now,’ he adds. ‘Every aspect of the building is being used as intended and CPR is serving as the dynamic resource to the community that we always knew it could be. Our calendars are full of events with so many great partners. It’s everything we could have hoped for.’