Header: © 2026 Inanc Eray / SOUR
The environment where a record is made inevitably changes the music itself. This idea, famously shared by Dave Grohl, sits at the heart of a new project on the Turkish island of Cunda. Designed by the studio SOUR, Pur is a boutique hotel and recording facility that functions as a bridge between traditional island life and high-end audio technology. It is a space built on the belief that music can bring people together, acting as a piece of infrastructure for human connection across different cultures.
A building of two halves
The project faced a specific challenge: how to respect the quiet, natural character of an island filled with olive trees and sea breezes while housing the intense technical requirements of a modern studio. The architects chose a path of dual alignment. From the outside, Pur looks like a modest two-storey building made of stone and timber, fitting in with the historical architecture of the Aegean.
However, once you step inside, the design takes a different turn. The interior is a sequence of soundscapes. The rooms change in height, width, and depth, using surfaces that either soak up or bounce back sound. A shell made of glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) acts as a gateway, moving visitors from the calm, local atmosphere into a precisely tuned professional environment. This transition feels like a tunnel through different sonic worlds, echoing how music travels through time and place.
Naturally lit subterranean studio
The heart of the music production area is located ten metres below ground, but it avoids the dark, cramped feeling of a typical basement. The designers created a musician’s lounge that feels like a cave but remains filled with natural light. By linking this lower level visually to the restaurant and terraces above, the space maintains an open, airy feel. It offers the comfort of a home rather than the sterile atmosphere of a workplace.
The technical areas are built using a “box-in-box” system to ensure total silence and acoustic isolation. This suite includes:
- A main live room large enough for a 75-piece orchestra.
- A control room, vocal booths, and percussion rooms.
- Dedicated spaces for mastering and editing.
- A Dolby Atmos theatre for immersive audio.
- Two echo chambers for natural reverb.
The main room is particularly flexible. It features sliding walls and ceiling panels that can be rotated or adjusted in height. This allows engineers to tune the room like an instrument, changing how long a sound lingers to suit different types of music.
Social spaces and collaborative design
A double-height restaurant serves as the social anchor for the property, connecting the indoor recording areas to outdoor courts, lounges, and the shoreline. This layout ensures that hospitality and hard work happen side by side. The design was not decided by architects alone; it was formed through a process of co-creation with both local and international musicians.
These artists asked for specific qualities: easy access to nature, a mix of global tech and local soul, and a balance between busy creative spots and quiet areas for rest. The result is a place where the architecture is a direct response to the needs of the people who use it. Early guests, including the pianist Fazıl Say, have noted that the lack of barriers allows creative ideas to grow naturally. At Pur, the building is not just a shell for equipment, but a partner in the creative process.
We can safely say that Pur stands as a successful experiment in how global standards can live within a local context. SOUR has created a destination that feels grounded in its Aegean soil while being capable of producing world-tier records. It proves that the best recording environments are those that value the history of their location as much as their hardware.
Project info
Project Name: PUR Residential Recording Studio
Location: Cunda, Ayvalik, Turkiye
Year: 2019-2026
Client: Pur Muzik / Pur Records
Design: SOUR – Inanc Eray
Design Team: Pinar Guvenc, Melike Baltalar, Pinar Gursoy, Derin Sahin, Merve Guven, Marianne de Zeeuw, Nicholas Doghlass, Zeynep Damgacioglu, Irem Gocmenoglu, Gamze Gurgenc.
Source: v2com newswire
