World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) produces hours of original television programming airing each week, music recordings released by some of wrestling’s biggest names, and live events like Wrestlemania and Smackdown featuring increasingly more elaborate audio and video production components. With such complex technical requirements, WWE needed production capabilities that could keep pace, and turned to RBDG to design new technical space in its Stamford, CT, facility.
"We realized we had to have the best tools for the job," says WWE composer Jim Johnston, "and that begins with the right rooms in which to use those tools."
RBDG transformed a 9,500 s.f. warehouse area into a distinct world for audio post and music production. The new technical space includes an audio post control room and announcer booth, a music control room, a live studio with isolation booth, a central equipment room, offices, and a lobby that provides a separate outside entrance for the department.
To create the environment that WWE requested, the design team faced the challenge of balancing comfortable usable spaces with the aggressive techno edge that is so much a part of the WWE mystique. For example, one wall of the music studio features earth-colored split face concrete block that supports custom radius cherry wood diffusers necessary to achieve the acoustical results required of the live room. Transparency also played an important role in the tight program fit. "The rooms include large expanses of glass, " notes Robert Traub, RBDG design principal, "which allow a visual connection between rooms while simultaneously revealing the blend of craftsmanship and technology."
A smoother workflow was another key element in the facility’s redesign, especially considering WWE’s high production volume and tight deadlines. "The main benefits of the redesign have been greater work output in terms of both quality and volume," says Chris Argento, WWE senior post mixer/ sound designer. He cites the vastly improved layout of the new facility as the biggest boon to his work. "The problem now is that everyone likes the room so much I can’t get them to leave when their part of the project is done."
The RBDG team worked closely with Johnston, Argento and the entire technical staff at WWE to produce a result that satisfied everyone’s needs in terms of technical output, streamlined workflow and a creative environment.
RBDG team design meeting at WWE
"Although the WWE technical team is often under incredible deadline pressure to get projects completed and out the door, they are consummate professionals and still have a lot of fun in what they do," notes Russ Berger, president of RBDG. "We had a great time working with them on this project."