The House of Music opens as Warsaw’s new immersive music production hub

THE BACKGROUND

Located in Warsaw, The House of Music is the personal vision of Italian producer and former DJ Andrea Lo Solfo, who made the Polish capital his home many years ago. A major figure in the Italian dance and progressive scene in the 1990s and 2000s, Lo Solfo now works outside the music industry – but has never lost his love of music production. With that passion still burning brightly, Lo Solfo set his mind on the creation of a state-of-the-art music studio: and so, The House of Music was born, powered exclusively by Genelec Smart Active Monitoring.

THE CHALLENGE

Extending far beyond a personal production space, The House of Music was conceived as a creative hub where sound engineers support the studio’s operations, and where artists and labels can meet, collaborate, and build a community. Combining Italian taste with Polish precision, the facility fuses Lo Solfo’s personal aesthetic with his wife Gosia’s architectural sensibility, producing an elegant, warm environment with uncompromising performance.

“Our goal was to create a genuinely multi-purpose creative space with a Dolby Atmos mixing room, a fully featured production studio, and a DJ performance area – all within a high-end architectural setting with a single acoustically optimised environment,” explains Lo Solfo.

But crucially, the facility also has a broader educational mission. “We also wanted to create a Dolby-certified facility capable of hosting producers, serving as a laboratory for immersive audio production, and acting as a base for educational activities and courses focused on Dolby Atmos Music and immersive workflows,” Lo Solfo reveals. “With this, we can position the studio as a true laboratory for music creation rather than a purely post-production environment.”

The system preserves a natural warmth that makes long sessions comfortable and inspiring.

THE SOLUTION

To deliver on his unique vision, Lo Solfo recruited Acusticarte from Rome for the facility construction, with the acoustic and interior design being masterminded by Studio Sound Service from Florence – who come with an unrivalled reputation for combining refined aesthetics with technical excellence. The evolution of the project was measured and gradual, as Donato Masci of Studio Sound Service explains:

“We actually began the design back in 2017, when Andrea and Gosia were still planning the construction of the new facility. Since the building itself was intended to realise Andrea’s vision for the music studio, the construction and optimisation spanned several years, with the pandemic further extending the timeline.”

The growth of immersive technology also had a profound influence on the development of the project. “Initially, the room design didn’t account for Atmos at all,” says Masci. “Then, as immersive audio became an industry standard, the project underwent a complete revision. The concept was adapted to meet Atmos requirements, and some of the more complex curved elements were simplified to ensure practical implementation,” he adds.

As a result, the room ultimately took on a slightly different character from the original design – still bold and distinctive, with clean, sinuous lines – but now fully optimised for immersive monitoring. Restrained colours and distinctive geometries – such as the parametric diffuser on the rear wall and the curved acoustic treatment – give the room an almost ‘organic’ feel.

A second major development involved the Artnovion console and instrument system. “What began with the simple requirement of ‘just a small keyboard’ evolved into a complex setup,” says Masci. “Percorsi Audio – Fausto Demetrio and Luca Ravagni – optimised the system so that Andrea can power on the studio, walk in, and immediately play any instrument, all fully patched and ready to use,” Masci adds. “But looking back, this extended development phase actually proved to be a significant advantage, contributing positively to the quality of the project.”

The accuracy of the monitoring environment allows me to make critical decisions much faster.

When it came to monitoring, there was one obvious choice. “Genelec was selected based on strong musical and technical considerations, fully aligned between the client and the design team,” says Masci. “We have had extensive international experience with Genelec monitoring systems across a wide range of professional facilities and consider the brand one of the most reliable solutions for this type of environment.”

As a result, the studio’s 7.1.4 immersive system features a pair of Genelec 1238As as main L/R monitors with a horizontal 1238AC in the centre position, complemented by eight 8340As for surrounds and overheads. A 7380A subwoofer handles LF duties. The room also includes two pairs of compact 8341A three-way coaxial monitors – one pair for stereo nearfield work at the front of the room, with the second pair integrated into the DJ set-up at the rear of the space.

“The monitor choices proved particularly effective when the project was adapted for Dolby Atmos Music,” says Masci. “The horizontal 1238AC performed optimally as the centre channel, saving vertical space and allowing seamless integration of the screen above it. In this technically dense environment, it was also essential that the monitors could be mounted on ceiling brackets or stands without complications. Everything had to integrate cleanly into the architectural design,” he adds.

Lo Solfo has high praise indeed for the quality of the monitoring system. “What impresses me the most is the combination of precision and musicality,” he comments. “The stereo image is extremely accurate, the low end remains tight and controlled, and the overall translation is remarkably consistent even at different listening levels. At the same time, the system preserves a natural warmth that makes long sessions comfortable and inspiring. It allows me to hear every nuance of a mix with confidence, from subtle dynamics to spatial details, without ever sounding harsh or fatiguing.”

This ability to mix with confidence has given Lo Solfo a distinct advantage. “Genelec has significantly improved both the efficiency of my workflow and the overall quality of my mixes,” he explains. “The accuracy of the monitoring environment allows me to make critical decisions much faster, with far less second-guessing during production and final mix stages. This level of trust in the monitoring chain enables a more creative and focused workflow, while ultimately delivering mixes that are more precise, immersive and emotionally engaging.”

THE CONCLUSION

With the project complete and the studio now fully operational, Lo Solfo is clearly satisfied that he’s achieved his goal of fusing technical performance with a truly creative atmosphere.

“We built The House of Music around three key elements: Italian design, acoustic precision, and a highly refined private environment. In doing so, we’ve managed to create a facility that’s technically sophisticated yet visually elegant, and above all, it provides a natural and comfortable working experience. It’s a professional facility that feels like a carefully designed living space – rather than a purely technical environment, and that makes me happy!” he concludes.

THE KIT

2 × 1238A
1 × 1238AC
8 × 8340A
1 × 7380A
4 x 8341A