Potato Head Studios Bali: Bridging European Acoustic Consulting to Local Construction
Building High-Performance Hospitality Through International Acoustic Collaboration
Potato Head Studios is one of Southeast Asia's most celebrated hospitality developments, making it an excellent example of the technical challenges faced by a Hotel Acoustic Consultant.
Luxury hospitality projects require careful coordination of architectural acoustics, structure-borne vibration control, guest room sound insulation, and mechanical noise mitigation. For every Hospitality Acoustic Consultant, these disciplines are essential to delivering exceptional guest comfort and meeting international hospitality performance standards.
Completed in 2020 as part of Desa Potato Head in Seminyak, Bali, the 168-room hotel was designed by OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) under the leadership of David Gianotten, with Andra Matin serving as the local architect. The multidisciplinary design team also included Royal HaskoningDHV as the Acoustic Consultant, Switch as the Lighting Consultant, Aurecon as the Structural and Building Services Engineer, and Larch Studio as the Landscape Consultant.
During the construction phase, ALTA Integra was recommended by Rick de Vos of Royal HaskoningDHV to support PT Total Bangun Persada Tbk, the project's main contractor, in identifying and evaluating alternative acoustic materials that were locally available in Indonesia while maintaining the acoustic performance objectives established by the project acoustic consultant.
ALTA Integra's Role
While the project's acoustic design had already been developed by Royal HaskoningDHV, construction often presents practical challenges when specified products have limited availability, long procurement lead times, or regional supply constraints.
As an Acoustic Consultant in Indonesia supporting an internationally designed hospitality project, ALTA Integra collaborated with the construction team to help translate the acoustic design intent into practical construction solutions.
Reviewing the acoustic performance requirements established by Royal HaskoningDHV.
Identifying locally available acoustic products and construction materials that could serve as technically suitable alternatives.
Comparing acoustic properties, installation methods, and constructability of substitute materials.
Providing technical recommendations to assist PT Total Bangun Persada during procurement and construction coordination.
Supporting communication between the contractor and the acoustic consultant regarding proposed material substitutions.
Because luxury hotels depend on exceptional acoustic comfort for guest satisfaction, any substitution of specified acoustic materials must be carefully evaluated to ensure equivalent acoustic performance, constructability, durability, and compliance with the original design intent. This evaluation formed an important part of ALTA Integra's construction-phase technical support.
Hotel Acoustic Consultant Challenges in Luxury Hospitality Projects
Potato Head Studios represents a unique hospitality environment where guest accommodation exists alongside restaurants, bars, performance spaces, wellness facilities, and the internationally renowned Potato Head Beach Club.
Such mixed-use hospitality developments require careful acoustic coordination to balance vibrant public activities with guest comfort. Typical considerations include:
Guest room airborne and structure-borne sound insulation
Façade window acoustic performance against entertainment noise
Control of structure-borne impact noise from luggage trolley traffic in guest room corridors
Roof-top bar noise mitigation
Kitchen equipment noise mitigation
Mechanical equipment and HVAC noise mitigation
For every Hotel Acoustic Consultant, luxury hospitality developments present a unique combination of acoustic engineering challenges. Guest expectations demand quiet guestrooms despite nearby entertainment venues, restaurants, rooftop bars, mechanical equipment, and busy circulation areas. Achieving these outcomes requires close collaboration between architects, acoustic consultants, contractors, and specialist suppliers throughout design and construction.
Royal HaskoningDHV led the overall acoustic design strategy for the development, while ALTA Integra's construction-phase support focused on facilitating material implementation within the Indonesian supply chain.
Construction Challenge: Achieving Effective Floating Floor Installation
One of the key construction challenges during the project involved the successful installation of the floating floor system for vibration isolation. While specifying the appropriate vibration damping material is essential, the overall performance of a floating floor depends equally on correct installation and strict adherence to acoustic detailing.
ALTA Integra worked closely with Dasdianto Bintang, Project Manager of PT Total Bangun Persada, to explain the engineering principles behind vibration isolation and the importance of maintaining complete structural separation between the floating floor and the structural slab. During construction, a common industry challenge can arise when installers inadvertently create rigid connections between the floating floor and the base slab—such as tying reinforcement, allowing concrete bridges, or permitting perimeter contact with surrounding structural elements. These unintended connections create structure-borne sound bridges, allowing vibration energy to bypass the resilient isolation layer and significantly reducing the effectiveness of the floating floor system.
Our role included reviewing installation details, discussing best construction practices with the project team, and emphasizing that a floating floor must remain fully decoupled from the supporting structure to achieve its intended vibration isolation performance. The construction team was advised to carefully protect the resilient layer throughout installation, prevent rigid contact at floor edges and penetrations, and verify that all detailing complied with the acoustic consultant's design intent.
This collaboration helped reinforce that high-performance acoustic construction depends not only on selecting the correct materials, but also on precise installation, quality control, and a thorough understanding of building physics principles. Even minor deviations during construction can compromise vibration isolation and negatively affect the acoustic comfort expected in a premium hospitality development.
International Collaboration
This project illustrates how an international Hospitality Acoustic Consultant and an Acoustic Consultant in Indonesia can work together to successfully implement complex acoustic solutions.
By combining Royal HaskoningDHV's international hospitality experience with ALTA Integra's local technical knowledge, the project team successfully adapted acoustic specifications to Indonesia's construction market while preserving the original design intent.
For complex hospitality developments, this type of collaboration helps bridge the gap between international specifications and practical construction realities.
ALTA Integra's Contribution
As an Acoustic Consultant in Indonesia serving luxury hospitality developments across Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region, ALTA Integra provides and construction-phase technical support for hotel acoustic engineering implementation, acoustic material evaluation, construction quality assurance, and acoustics testing and measurement.
Our experience working alongside internationally recognized acoustic consultants demonstrates how local building physics expertise can successfully deliver global hospitality acoustic standards throughout Indonesia and Asia.
Project Information
Project: Potato Head Studios
Location: Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia
Completion: 2020
Client: Potato Head
Architect: OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture)
Local Architect: Andra Matin
Acoustic Consultant: Royal HaskoningDHV
Lighting Consultant: Switch
Structural & Building Services: Aurecon
Landscape Consultant: Larch Studio
Main Contractor: PT Total Bangun Persada Tbk.
Acoustic Implementation Consultant (Indonesia): ALTA Integra
