Hardwell has had a brand new studio built in his Curaçao holiday home.
Whilst the world is in madness, it is likely Hardwell is lying low in his new Curaçao home. Curaçao is Dutch island in the Carribbean – located just north of South America, next to Aruba.
Since the first architectural design stage, studio designer Jan Morel has been working on the construction and design of his third studio together with Hardwell. “I became involved with the design directly from the start,” he recalls. “When the first drawings were made for the new house it was clear a studio had to be in it as well. The architect gave me the location and the space in the house for the studio, and with this information I had to figure out how to make it possible.”
The aesthetic requirements for the new studio demanded a different design from Hardwell’s all-white main studio in the Netherlands, with the style, colours and architecture mirroring the house in Curacao itself.
“The distance between my office and Curacao was the biggest challenge we faced on the project,” states Morel. “I had to work with local contractors and craftsmen all online only. Normally I work with my own team and that makes it easier because they can read my brain.”
One constant that has endured in the relationship between Hardwell and Morel is the choice of studio monitors, and that is once again the case in the Caribbean. “He is used to Genelec, his main studio is equipped with
1034Bs, a 7073A and 8341As,” says Morel. “For him there is no other option to go for, or work with.”
For this space Morel’s solution sees a pair of 1237A SAM studio monitors installed as the main solution about 6 feet from the listening position. A further two 8330A SAM monitors about 4 feet away provide the nearfield system. Finally, a 7071A dual 12-inch sub has been placed under the desk but off centre, close to the wall to manage low frequencies.
Having overcome some challenges within the construction phase, the final result is something both Morel and, more importantly Hardwell, are happy with. “He had seen the design before I started finishing the room, and when we finished the room for real, he was really flabbergasted and blown away by the result both in sound and looks,” says Morel. “It was beyond his expectation.”
