A feat of innovative design and out-of-the-box thinking, the Mediaworks building tells the story of radio—a medium rich in history and soul—through a brave, game-changing fit-out. The Autex design team worked alongside architects Warren and Mahoney to create three bold, custom, acoustic sculpture walls for the common areas, and high-performance treatment for the studios.
The Mediaworks floorplan is laid out like a cityscape—each radio brand existing within its own unique neighbourhood. Inside the neighbourhoods are stacked studios, production suites, and meeting rooms, characterised by their corresponding acoustic sculpture walls. As leaders in the New Zealand media industry, Mediaworks needed their studios to perform at a high level to meet every day broadcasting demands.
The 16 professional studios are the lifeblood of Mediaworks, broadcasting eight radio brands across New Zealand daily. Migrating towards video-radio production, the acoustic treatment and visible structural elements within the studios are a light, neutral palette—with the layout optimised for video recording. Coloured neon lights were also fitted along the edge of stepped walls, adding a touch of personality to the otherwise minimalist space.
Each studio is treated with 50 mm Quietspace® Panel and 12 mm Cube™ to create a ‘dry’ acoustic environment, mitigating any reverberation, echo, or distracting ‘flutter’ that could interfere with the recording. Formulated as a high-performance broadband absorber, Quietspace Panel has a thick, spongy backing overlaid with a solid, compressed polyester laminate—effectively absorbing 85% of the sound energy it meets. Cube—a lightweight, semi-rigid acoustic panel—performs particularly well across the human vocal frequency range. Combined, the pair provide excellent broadband absorption.
The finished studios offer a sleek, modern aesthetic hand-in-hand with high-performance broadcasting technology—giving each radio brand space to create quality, innovative video and audio content they can be proud of.
