Just thinking aloud here. I have a block of land which is on a slope. Steepish, but not super steep. In maybe, I dunno, 10-20 years, I'd like to give up working as an engineer and start my own studio. I want to build my own studio. I have the land. But building high would block out the view. So I was thinking about going partially underground, so that the roof would be in line with the ground and would actually create a nice platform (for when you are NOT recording) to sit on and relax. So basically the studio would be built into the side of the hill. Construction engineering issues aside, what do you guys think of this? Have you seen a similar studio before? I know bass response could be an issue due to three walls being planted into solid ground, but careful design and suitable bass traps should alleviate this enough, I hope. So I guess just a wish list for many years down the track. What do you all think?

I think it would be such a cool studio if done well. Would be a great advertising point being such a unique design.

Matt,

I know the butthole surfers had a place in the Austin Hill country for a while.  It was dug into the side of the hill - longways.  Big open room in the middle w/ the kitchen farther into the hillside with a low roof back there where it sloped into the hill.  Bedroom on either side.  They usually used studios but had lots of equipemnt at home.  Paul always did a lot of recording where ever he stayed.  I always thought that place had recording possibilities, but they were only renting.  Still, if you didn't need bedrooms on one side such a set up could work.  Since the roof sloped out of the hill the main room (and bedrooms) had high ceilings.

It worked pretty well - just slice into the hill which provides the back wall and there was dirt and grass about halfway along the roof line.  Not completely green and sealed, but a nice compromise from having a hobbit hole.

Bonus was the fact that the roof went out and covered a big porch that stretched the length of the house - it was only covered w/ brush which didn't do much for rain but provided good shade (and it don't rain too often in austin).  It would provide a nice place to park the band if the temps aren't too brutal.

getting equipment down a slope,hmmm.im sure you could figure a decent packing routine.

Interesting idea for sure. 

There are all kinds of ways to achieve that possibility as well...

A friend of mine built a house like that.  In the side of a mountain on a piece of property he owned in the Virginia hills. 

You pulled in the driveway and to the parking area. Then some steps led down the hill to the patio of the house.  The roof of the house was, as you said, a grassy place where he had a few chairs and a table so he could set and look out over the valley down to the creek.

For a studio, I would simply extend the driveway down to the front door so that dragging gear up and down a slope didn't have to happen. That would be a real buzz kill if you had to move gear up and down a hill side by hand. 

That picture reminds me of 2 clubs my band played.....One time each...never again. 

 I helped a friend build a house like that,never a studio though. It was a huge success. Depending on which way it faces you can gain huge advantages in heating and cooling costs too.

 I recently read that somewhere in Australia there is a small town located underground. They showed footage of it on the TV. I think you're onto a great idea.

Yes definitely go underground, many good advantages to this especially in the Aussie climate, and great suggestions already given here by others.... cooling/heating costs reductions, perfect ISO conditions you can take advantage of all that.

Put sky-lighting tubes in for those winter days but with slide-over covers for hot sunny days. You need some natural light or else you'll be having those saver bulbs on all day and night lol! 

Yeah I can picture it all coming together very nicely. 

And now we'll have to rename you to; MattPlaysDownunder!! (J/K)  

As an engineer I will guess particulars such as moisture you are already aware of so
I'll venture out and say; I really liked the Hobbits homes. The round doors and windows
were very attractive to me and fit the design I think.

Of course underground won't solve any low frequency issues that may be near...like trains
or granite open pit mining.

Fortunately this would be 100% studio, so no bedroom so worry about.

Slope and gear wouldn't be an issue as there is room for a driveway and car space right down to the entrance. But certainly a good thing to keep in mind. Lots of gear would be going in and out all the time so it needs to have easy access or people wouldn't come back!

As for that underground town!! I have heard of the name Coober Pedy lots of times but I never realised it was an underground town!! Very cool. I would drive there for a visit, but it's nearly 2000 kms away... For anyone interested - http://www.hotelclub.com/blog/the-underground-town-of-coober-pedy/

Spacey, I'm a mechanical engineer though so less knowledgeable in construction! I certainly did think about water runnoff and underground water flow during rain. It would certainly require a bit of thinking for adequate water diversion. It's right next to a fairly busy road for trucks, so fortunately not as bad as trains, but still noisy. It's a fair bit lower than the road, so I'd need to check line of site though and ensure it's well out of the way. I think there is also open pit mining somewhere in the area! But it's well far enough away. Only issue is the dust.

If it needs it, I'd actually consider making floating iso rooms. It would at the very least be a lot of fun! I like the idea of making a main room with 2-3 iso rooms and a control room, all independently floating, but you're starting to talk serious $$ when you get into that, and some serious room is required too. Floating iso rooms would be great for bands which want a multi tracked sound, but really need to see the other band members in action when they play. You can always dream! And hopefully bring to reality.

Further still, I'd love to design something which could be expanded into 5.1 mixing and video capabilities. I'm starting to get into video these days so I may get heavily into that field too!


And finally, I'm 25 and have so many dreams... Still a young spring chicken, so I guess I'll have to wait and see what life has in store for me. Fingers crossed I get to build my dream!

allow me to chime in. and say.. 
if your going this far. put in a bathroom. of course you'll need at least maybe a wet bar. 
you'll be happy you did.
anyway sounds like an awesome idea.
good luck. 
please document it all. I personally would love to see the progress from beginning to end.