Kapil Thirwani, who has designed studios for AR Rahman and Ram Sampath, tells Karan Bhardwaj that the demand for acoustics is rising as it suppresses noise and makes offices and homes more productive
If you have an air conditioner to be installed in london, you will have to consult an acoustic specialist, who will prepare a report that your AC doesn’t disturb or create noise in the neighbourhood. That gets you a license which ensures that even the slightest of noise pollution is under check by the authorities. However, back home, forget about the air conditioners or coolers, even the nightclubs and pubs don’t follow any rules, if they exist at all! According to reports, Mumbai’s luxurious property JW Marriott had to shut its popular nightclub Enigma after repeated complains from the residents in the vicinity. However, they came back after a year with better acoustics in place. Thanks to the alarming levels of sound pollution and such cases that the acoustics in India is fast becoming an integral part of architecture. “People are buying expensive houses, dedicated home theatres. So they realise the importance of good acoustics, which not only improves the sound quality but also prevents and controls sound. Architects are getting more and more involved in it. When I moved back to India seven years back, we were only got queries from Bollywood for studios. But now, it’s a trend in households,” says Kapil Thirwani, director, Munro Acoustics India.
The company has designed private and commercial studios for the music legends like AR Rahman, Salim-Sulaiman, Ram Sampath, Kailash Kher and others. They have also done the acoustics and sound design for Blue Frog (Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune), hotspots Asilo and Hardrock Café (Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad). Currently, they are designing for Playboy Clubs, composer Amar Mohile and Dolby’s studio in Mumbai.
Interestingly, there is a rise of private screenings in metros. People who don’t want to watch films with public are building up mini-theatre at homes. A lot of distributors are allowing the audience to watch movies on Thursday night at such private screenings. These areas can range from four seater to 30-seater. Traditionally, acoustics have been a quintessential element of film and music studios. It can achieve good speech intelligibility in a theatre, restaurant or railway station, enhancing the quality of music in a concert hall or recording studio, or suppressing noise to make offices and homes more productive and pleasant places to work and live in. “Our senses are much more advanced than technology and they can absorb several reflections which create fumble sounds. Acoustics improve the channel of sound waves,” he explains. As channels are foraying into HD format, more and more emphasis is given to world class acoustics. “Broadcast with acoustics is coming up big time. We have worked with Star and Sony networks. There are smaller channels which are using their infrastructure to produce audio and videos,” says Thirwani.
Cost depends on space. Acoustics are not expensive, if it is considered at the time of construction. It can cost up to Rs 200 sq ft to 1,000 sq ft for homes while the cost can shoot up to Rs 6,500 sq ft for studios. Thirwani is also designing Dolby’s headquarters in Mumbai.