RAYA ANI designed the two Sonic Union’s sound recording studios referred to as “PLAYGROUNDS”, each playground overlooks a park in Manhattan with the interior space exemplifying the designer’s iconoclastic approach to space design while referencing aspects of the park that it overlooks.

Sonic Union on Bryant Park (Playground 2):

Located in Midtown, the epicenter of business with its own ecosystem of interconnected businesses; the designer envisioned interconnecting major landmarks in the neighborhood and bringing this ecosystem indoors. Irregular polygons created a spatial environment connecting the triangulated surfaces that expand throughout the space, defining and crafting the main architecture while forming perfectly soundproof audio recording rooms.

A holding space in the form of a circle in the corner overlooking Bryant Park was reserved. It was intended for this void to be used by different artists at different times for sidewalk 3D graffiti art. The artists are free as to how they interpret references to the water reservoir that dates back to 1847, and the water fountain in Bryant Park. This space acts as a social space recalling the memory of the reservoir and the fountain thus turning the “outside” significance in. Through this act, shared experiences between clients, staff and the public are created in an urban interior environment of social interaction while celebrating the client’s motto of “Record. Mix. Play.”

The project employed an integrated design and digital fabrication workflow to ensure a precise and efficient execution while maintaining formal and spatial intent. An alternative production cycle that involved client, architect, designer, and fabricator simultaneously increased speed of production and communication. 

The team developed custom software tools in Rhino/Grasshopper to provide accurate rapid iteration through the design/production process. This allowed for design variations that would translate directly to fabrication and final realization.