Grimshaw Architects has revealed the design for a 16-soundstage studio production campus for the independent company East End Studios. Located on a 15-acre former industrial site in the Arts District in Los Angeles, the campus will provide creative workplace buildings and production support spaces connected via a series of outdoor terraces and walkways. The project responds to its location and context by moving away from the traditional studio layout and instead opting to create a “vertical campus”. This composition creates a more open public relationship with the downtown neighborhood while ensuring that all campus facilities are well connected.
At the street level, the basecamp provides logistical vehicle access, so that trucks, equipment, and actors’ trailers can move safely between the soundstages and production spaces. The campus also takes advantage of its location, which offers direct access to multiple transit routes. The function of studio production typically requires high bank facades. In order to integrate them into the surrounding streetscape, the architects opted to break down the large building volume and create active spaces for the public.
Campus connectivity and city context have driven Grimshaw’s approach to the site which holds industrial heritage and will accommodate a digital future. The opportunity to work on a project that is part of our own direct community, with Grimshaw’s Los Angeles studio only a handful of blocks away, is particularly exciting. - Andrew Byrne, Partner at Grimshaw
The industrial heritage of the area is referenced in the design. The modularization of the building is expected to increase the lifespan of the structures and contribute to the sustainable development targets of the project. The redevelopment of the site also aims to contribute to the growth of the local economy. The work-live neighborhood combining creative, commercial, and residential spaces will provide approximately 1,000 jobs. Following the city application, the project has a target completion date of 2026.
Grimshaw is an international architectural practice with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Dubai, Melbourne, and Sydney. Recently they have announced plans to redesign and expand the Washington Union Station and to develop a campus for the Futures Institute at Dollar Academy in Scotland. The company has also launched a charitable foundation to bring access to creative learning tools to a diverse range of young people.
Project credits:
- Client: East End Studios
- Architect: Grimshaw
- Landscape: Studio MLA
- Structural Engineers: Englekirk
- MEP Engineers: Meyers+
- Civil Engineers: Langan
