Submitted by Bastien Admin on Thu, 17/05/2018 - 12:44
For Immediate Release
11/5/1998
Los Angeles, Calif. – Orange County architect Gary L. Bastien, AIA recently completed the design for Los Angeles Center Studios, billed as the first studio in downtown Los Angeles. Gary Bastien has become known for contributing his studio expertise to bringing new studios to strategic locations. The new studio, praised by Hollywood executives, city officials, and California Film Commission Director Patti Archuletta, is now under construction and scheduled for completion in July of 1999.
Chris Ursitty and Brian Bosnan of Hollywood Locations (a company that represents Los Angeles building owners to the entertainment industry) joined forces with developers Steve Smith, Larry Hrisik and Weston Munselle of Smith, Hrisik & Munselle Development Co. in making the project become a reality for the city.
The new stages sit adjacent to the old Unocal Building, now used as a popular location for action films like “Lethal Weapon 4” and “The X-Files.” There is also an existing commissary on-site.
The new construction consists of six sound stages at 18,000 s.f. each and four attached production support buildings at 8,500 s.f. each. Two stages have a clear height of 45 feet while the remaining four have a clear height of 35 feet to the bottom of the wood bow-string trusses.
Traditional double wall stud construction methods for sound stages have a square-foot cost of over $225, but Bastien’s tilt-up concrete design for L.A. Center brought the price down to approximately $135 per square foot. The use of concrete walls responds not only to structural needs, but acoustical ones as well. The dense physical properties of the concrete are excellent for sound isolation, a critical factor in sound stage design. Bastien’s wall design, along with experienced detailing of doors, vestibules and roofs give the stages a desirable acoustical NC Rating of 25.
Bastien has achieved similar cost savings for many other sound stage projects. For instance, the newly completed Phase I of Manhattan Beach Studios (where Fox’s “Ally McBeal” and “The Practice” are filmed-Phase II construction will be completed in August of 1999) came in at $115 per square foot because of the use of common walls. Phase I of CBS Studio Center (where “Caroline in the City” is filmed) was similarly priced for the same reason.
The success of L.A. Center is seen by many as continuing evidence of the growth of the entertainment industry and of the economy in general.