034_045ACACFoxStudios
10/21/04
7:24 PM
Page 38
Fox Studios, Century City, CA
A
t the southern edge of ultra modern Century City
are what remains of the grand old studios of 20th
Century Fox. Century City, with its glitzy array of
hotels, shopping centers and towering skyscrap-
ers, was built on what used to be the back lot of the 20th
Century Fox movie studio, which is why they called the new
complex "Century City." Most of the studio's back lot was sold
off when Century City was developed, and some of the studio's
facilities have been relocated elsewhere to make room for the
shopping center. But a good part of the old Fox studios has
survived and still remain busy making movies and TV dramas.
Located on the landmark Fox Studios lot, the new Fox
Network Center and Executive Building combines operation
of Fox and its parent company, News Corporation of America.
The two adjacent buildings are five-story structures built over
a three-story underground parking structure. Fox Network
Center consolidates the multiple Fox broadcasting activities
previously scattered throughout the LA area. The center is a
24-hour, fully digital television broadcast facility for the nation’s
fourth largest network. It houses the technical operations of
38
Fox Broadcasting Company as well as Fox Sports Network and
other Fox cable channels. The new Executive Building is the
West Coast headquarters for the executive and administrative
offices of the multimedia entertainment conglomerate.
Architectural walls are built with the same integrity as a
retaining wall; plazas and hardscapes should contain
reinforcing steel very similar to precast wall panel
construction, often mimicking reinforcing schedules.
Amenities include a 10,000 square-foot restaurant,
a 65-seat private screening room and a large “blue sky” media
laboratory.
For the Fox Studios project, Shaw & Sons worked closely
from the beginning with the architect, HLW International LLP,
to establish construction procedures, budgets and working
relationships. Extensive team pre-planning resulted in an
exhaustive review of all project details, selection of the best
materials for the job, as well as achieving optimum esthetic
value and durability.
Shaw & Sons excels in the design and construction of architectural walls such as those used in the Fox Studios project.
Architectural walls are built with the same integrity as retaining walls; plazas and hardscapes built by Shaw & Sons contain
reinforcing steel similar to that used in pre-cast concrete wall
construction. Structural mix designs used by Shaw & Sons are
comparable to the company’s high-rise pour techniques to
efficiently and effectively put down large volumes of concrete.
HLW International LLP, Architects
Radius walls with horizontal reveals.