The concept for Burbank Studios, a new headquarters for Warner Brothers Studios, was conceived on the back of a napkin by architect Frank Gehry.

Conceived as “icebergs floating along the freeway,” this uniquely sculptural concept called for NHF to fabricate thousands of one-off custom-angled pieces.

“When most of the project components are one-offs, there’s very little production efficiency and anything going wrong in the field gets amplified,” described an NHF site manager. “You can’t ad-lib any solutions in the field, so NHF approached this with an early and extraordinarily-detailed production plan that created room for problems to arise and be resolved quickly.”

The plan was tested as installation began in the days of 2020 pandemic-induced materials and shipping bottlenecks – and it’s worked. Through hundreds of hours of collaboration, planning and testing with Gehry Partners and owner Worthe Real Estate, NHF translated a napkin sketch into a breathtaking new landmark fit for a legendary moviemaker.

“Working with Mike and his team at New Hudson was a vital part of the success of the project. We started working with them early in our design process, integrating the technical development of the wall into the overall design from nearly the beginning of our design. This allowed us to achieve sophisticated technical solution while bringing the project in under-budget and ahead of schedule

— GEHRY PARTNERS, LLP

 

200 South California St,
Burbank, CA 91505

Facade Area361,664 sq-ft

Height140 ft

ArchitectGehry Partners