Recording studio gets modern façade treatment in Corktown

High Bias Recording Studio on Michigan Avenue is receiving an unusual façade restoration as envisioned and constructed by The Design Team, an interdisciplinary collaborative made up of a team with varied backgrounds that range from architecture, music, construction, design, textile arts and film.

Chris Koltay, who owns High Bias, was looking for “something that would be private yet inviting. Security was a concern, and I also wanted something that would help to lessen traffic noise for my recording studio.” The Design Team came up with horizontally-slatted cherry wood siding contrasting with long narrow vertical windows that will be internally-lit. The combination, explains Design Team member Philip Cooley, “creates mystique, gives a nice sense of privacy, but the glowing box [created by the windows] draws in the audience from the exterior.”

The Design Team recently completed work on Ann Arbor’s Vinology, and is currently working on the renovations of Eastern Market’s Detroit Candy Co. Building and a patio for Slow’s Bar B Que, located just across the street from High Bias.