Multi-platinum gospel artist Kirk Franklin recently completed the transformation of a vacant furniture warehouse in Downtown Arlington into a $2 million, state-of-the-art recording studio unlike any in the country today.
Fo Yo Soul Entertainment, which opened in November, is located in a two-story stone and glass building at 102 S. Oak St. The 9,000-square-foot structure, originally built in 1968, was extensively remodeled with specialized construction techniques designed to block outside noise and vibrations from downtown traffic and the nearby train tracks.
But that's not the only thing the makes the building unique. It's also the first recording studio in America known to feature prototype technology that can change how large the space sounds, making it seem as intimate as a jazz club or as spacious as a cathedral, with a few simple taps on a computer screen.
"You can literally change the design of the building on a laptop," said Franklin, a long-time Arlington resident who recently gave MyArlingtonTV a tour of Fo Yo Soul. "There are speakers and there are microphones in the walls. It can sound like whatever you want it to sound like with the touch of a button."
Franklin's recording studio was designed by the Russ Berger Design Group, a North Texas firm whose experience includes projects for the University of Texas Dallas, Lakewood Church and NFL Films.
Transforming the furniture warehouse into a state-of-the-art studio required creative engineering, especially since the building is close to a busy rail line. To prevent outside noise and vibration interference, the original slab was dug out and the walls and ceiling were anchored to a new "floating" slab, said Russ Berger, president of the Russ Berger Design Firm.
"Nothing touches the outside structure. You don't have any vibrations from the train. You don't even know it's going by," Berger said.
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