New broadcast studio facility is created for the Ealing School of Art,
Design and Media at the University of West London.

To meet the needs of the Ealing School of Art, Design and Media, part of the
University of West London, Veale Associates have created broadcast facilities
dedicated to those training for a career in radio. VA worked closely with the
school academics, technicians and principal contractor Willmott Dixon to
create studios that reflect the latest ideas and practices of commercial radio
so students gain real experience of the commercial world.

The development is part of a £50 million pound campus regeneration scheme
for the University aimed at improving students’ learning and social experience.
The BA (Hons) Radio and Multimedia Audio Production course equips
students with creative and technical skills relevant to the production of audio
for radio, and the wider broadcast and entertainment industries. Blast Radio
(UWL’s official student station and a Finalist in the 2014 SU Awards) gives
students a chance to get real hands-on experience in a radio studio.

Both Studios are identically equipped and centred around the Lawo Crystal
mixer with Vistools and uses the Tieline Commander for external reporting
and contributions, Protools with RedNet to ingest music from other parts of
the campus and record live studio productions, Myriad for play-out, Burli for
news capture and script editing, Phonebox for phone-in contributions, IDS
clock and information display, DJ kit comprising Pioneer CDs and record
decks and mixer, Neuman microphones, PMC twotwo5 monitor speakers
Adder integrated KVM switches to seamlessly link the kit in the CAR/Racks
room to the studio desk and wall display screens.

Veale Associates’ head consultant Eddie Veale said, “Studios need to look
and sound impressive, but it’s not as straightforward as that. Today’s studios
need to remain flexible, operating 24/7, and have to make sure they deliver
optimum performances from a host of different users. At the same time they
have to live for the future to guarantee longevity so there is a lot of detail to
the design and build. I am proud that we achieved that, and the University is
enjoying the results."

Paul Lohneis, Head of Film and Media at UWL, said, “Together with an
exciting new curriculum, and a dynamic team of connected-creative
academics working at the heart of the industry, this new facility will put us at
the forefront of HE radio and multimedia audio teaching in the UK.”