Located in the heart of the Burbank Media District on the 134 Freeway, the project sits on a 37-acre site that formerly housed NBC Studios. The site, with a quarter of a mile of prime frontage on the freeway presented a unique opportunity to create a powerful architectural presence with enough frontage to captivate drivers on the busy freeway. The “Iceberg,” as it is known, is a crystalline façade of varied angles of glass planes that march across the freeway side of the building. On the studio side, the building breaks down into smaller scale elements that step down to the existing studio lot. The articulation of the metal facades convey a historic industrial feel, a throwback to Hollywood’s bygone era. The stepped metal facades create terraces for elevated outdoor spaces directly adjacent to office areas. The majority of the open space and landscape is placed at the same grade as the existing studio lot to create a strong pedestrian connection between existing and new. The freeway side of the building creates an acoustic barrier protecting these outdoor spaces. Once completed, the project transformed the site from a single user studio lot to an independent production studio lot with the ability to house multiple tenants with nearly 1 million gsf in additional sound stages, office, production space, and other support facilities.
The project is anticipated to receive LEED Gold Certification. The high performance envelope reduces building loads and maximizes natural daylighting. LED lighting and energy efficient HVAC systems were utilized throughout and photovoltaic panels were installed on the roof. The design also utilizes reclaimed water for cooling towers and low flow water efficient plumbing fixtures. No materials containing chemicals on the ‘Living Building Challenge Red List’ were used anywhere on the project.
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