Founded in 1958 by Mac Emmerman, the history books credit Criteria with a phenomenal catalogue of special performances. The complete list reads like the proverbial 'Who's Who' of popular music including James Brown, Aretha Franklin, The Eagles, Eric Clapton, Bob Seeger, Aerosmith, REM, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Gloria and Emilio Estefan and, of course, the Bee Gees. Attracted by its reputation, high ceilings, the growing Latin music market and Miami's gateway to Latin America, The Hit Factory acquired Criteria and completely refurbished the existing facility. The design team consisted of The Hit Factory Inc., New York (project management); White Mark Ltd., Suffolk, England (acoustical and technical design consultants and technical installation), WML/AKA/Procter & Wang Architects, New York (furniture, interior and design consultants); Oakwood Construction (specialist studio construction). "The studio design was a major and unique challenge", comments David Bell Managing Director of White Mark, Ltd. "The history and character of the complex together with the need for integration with the New York Hit Factory presented both problems and opportunities. Significant technical advances were required in the isolation performance, the electrical, technical and mechanical systems. Interior design coordination involving much loved historic studio features, the local Miami vernacular and the company corporate style was vital." Bell continued, "To provide uniform coverage and accurate monitoring, RPG Diffractals® were used on the rear wall of all of the new Control Rooms at Criteria. To provide a uniform diffuse sound field in Studio A the entire ceiling was treated with RPG Skyline® omnidirectional diffusors, whilst careful creation of live areas throughout the complex utilised RPG Diffractals® in many of the booths and smaller live rooms. Our experience has indicated that RPG products are well documented and consistently provide the desired acoustical performance our projects require. This is true of studios ranging from post production for television and radio to full film dubbing facilities and from recording facilities aimed at pre-production to full film scoring stages. We have installed RPG products in countries as diverse as Iceland, mainland Europe, the UK and the USA with full confidence that they will do exactly what is specified." Commenting on the renovation as opposed to a new ground up facility, Troy Germano, Hit Factory New York, indicated, "I think the end result is that the studios are even better than they otherwise would have been. The result is certainly impressive. All the rooms display a character missing from most modern rooms and retain essential elements of the studio that has produced so many classic recordings." Despite the renovation, veteran producers and musicians feel that the magic is still there! For more information consult the RPG website and Studio Sound Magazine April 2000.