Sound Isolation for Club Mad Max - Basel, Switzerland

by Dirk Noy

The Mad Max Story

Fig. 1- Mad Max - Exterior.

The Mad Max story began in November 1997, when a team of three dynamic businesspeople, Barbara Schmid, Gregor Spoerri and Peter Muench, took over a club located in the city center of Basel / Switzerland that - contradictory to its location and size - to that date had little commercial success.

Drastic remodeling, uplifting and reshaping in style and interior design - consistent with the club's new name "Mad Max" after the movies starring Mel Gibson (1979, 1981 and 1985) - quickly made the club a primer entertainment facility.

The club's unique profile is most dramatically influenced by the club's audience: Nobody below the age of 28 will be admitted - a policy that has been strictly followed and is described as the recipe to success by the club's managers.

Location, location, locationÖ

The Mad Max club is located in the basement of a 1960s commercial concrete building. In 1999, the floor above the existing club became available and the club's managers decided to expand their activities to that floor.

The following months were spent arranging all paperwork that comes with such an expansion as well as discussing preliminary ideas about the interior design and look of the new club that was going to have the name same name, "Mad Max", Floor Number 2.

Fig. 2 - Mad Max Floor 2 - Original Look

Primary acoustical tests by an acoustician and additional tests by the club's managers (performed by highly scientific methods utilizing a hammer, an old club sound system, a Radio Shack noise level meter and the human earÖ) quickly showed that acoustical isolation from the newly acquired first floor to the neighbor's premises was extremely weak.

To make things even worse, the neighbor was a five-star hotel with extremely high noise restrictionsÖ This situation then almost caused a termination of the project because no acoustical solution could be found to match the necessary isolation values with reasonable cost and space requirements.

Acoustical Solutions

At that time, project engineer and club manager Gregor Spoerri, contacted Dirk Noy, head of the Walters-Storyk Design Group Europe office, based in Basel, Switzerland. Precise Sound Transmission Class measurements that quantify isolation between two rooms were then performed between the future club floor and the appropriate hotel rooms. A dramatic dip of this STC measurement curve at around 4kHz and an even worse dip at 63Hz let the involved parties believe that mechanical coupling between the two adjacent buildings was present. Unfortunately there was no way of telling where the coupling area was located, and because the distance between the two buildings was a mere 10cm (4 inches), it was impossible to go and take a look eitherÖ

Fig. 3 - Mad Max Floor 1 - From left to right: Gregor Spoerri (Club Manager / Project Manager), John Storyk (Principal Architect WSDG), Peter Muench (Club Manager), Dirk Noy (Managing Director WSDG Europe)

Further analysis determined that in order to get appropriate sound isolation, the new club area needed full acoustical decoupling from the building's walls, floor and ceiling. This technique (that can result in STC sound isolation values of up to 70 or 80dB and higher) is frequently used in recording studio, home theater and other critical acoustical design environments.

In close cooperation with the client, the construction company (which is in fact a division of the club's operational company itself which specializes in club construction projects) and the construction materials company Knauf, Walters-Storyk Design Group developed a highly sophisticated acoustical container design with full acoustical decoupling from all boundaries.

Floor details include the use of hundreds of special fiberglass isolator cubes and reinforced gypsum board flooring panels. The entire ceiling structure is hung on industrial-quality isolation springs of the type that is also being specified for jet engine test stands and the like. The walls are built as an ingenious sandwich of gypsum board, air, special spring isolator devices, more gypsum and more air that entirely decouples the club area from the surrounding boundaries. Further complex solutions and specifications have been developed by Walters-Storyk Design Group for all HVAC ductwork, water piping and cabling entries as well as guest and personnel access to the club's core area.

After completion of the construction, acoustical tests were performed again, using a sound system that could deliver a peak level of 107dB SPL. The test result can be best explained by relating a cell-phone dialogue during the test: Receiver Room (hotel): "Hey, did you guys turn on the system yet?", Source Room (club dancefloor):"Pardon me? What are you saying? I can't hear you! We are at 107dB sound pressure level!" .

Fig. 4 - STC Measurement Curve - before and after treatments

In summary, the acoustical design can certainly be described as being one of the most successful sound isolation projects that Walters-Storyk Design Group has ever undertaken.

Sound, Light and Interior Design

The club's sound system comprises custom-built high-mid cabinets that are based on JBL components. The two 1.2kW subwoofers are "Boxer" type cabinets made by SL Audiotechnik Germany that are placed at the left and right edge of the dancefloor. The Boxer is a system which is based on coupled-driver "push-push" technology that minimizes distortion and mechanical vibration of the units which further helps sound isolation towards the neighboring hotel.

The sound reinforcement system is driven by a number of QSC switching power supply amplifiers. The light system is based around a Martin Access Controller / Lightjockey computer unit which controls 16 Martin MAC 500 E moving-head fixtures with custom painted shells and a multitude of classic light effects.

A dedicated and surprising centerpiece has been designed by Gregor Spoerri, the club's visionary head designer, technician and operator. Interior design is based on elements of the Alien worlds - figures, wall treatments, color choices and other ambiance elements offer a high-techy out-of-this world experience. Movie props from a private collection have been donated to further enhance the futuristic look of the facility. Furthermore, figures and other design elements have been contributed by an acclaimed Swiss surrealist artist.

Club Operation

Mad Max Floor 2 will inherit many of the concepts that have already made Mad Max Floor 1 a highly successful club - as main point the minimum admission age of 28. Visitors will pay one admission (which is actually a coupon for two drinks) and still be able to visit both clubs, which share the same main entrance and coat room. The music programme in Mad Max Floor 1 will remain the same as before: A nicely done mix of 70s, 80s, 90s and contemporary upspeed pop and rock tracks. The focus is not laid on any of the time periods - as long as the sound is right, the tracks will be played, no matter how old or young the song is. Instead of promoting individual DJs, Mad Max believes in promoting their style of music, which does not change much even when DJs are moving on. In line with its high-tech environment, Mad Max Floor 2 will lean more towards House, Vocalhouse and some commercial Trance style dance music, which tends to be hugely successful in Europe and all over the world. With the addition, the Mad Max club complex becomes a well-designed, multi-faceted entertainment facility with all that it takes to have people spend a big part of their weekend nights in a relaxed, upscale and friendly club atmosphere. Who knows - maybe Mad Max Floor 3, the inevitable third sequel, may one day follow in the club world as it did in the movie worldÖ

Fig. 5 - Mad Max - Final Look

Location:

Club Mad Max
Steinentorstrasse 35
4051 Basel
SWITZERLAND