The Los Angeles City Council has “unanimously approved” Foster + Partners redevelopment of the Television City in Los Angeles, a 25-acre site with sound stages and production studios dedicated to CBS programming.
Located in Fairfax just south of West Hollywood, the campus contains a host of buildings and offices designed in the 1950s by Transamerica Pyramid architect William Pereira that will be updated under the Foster + Partner masterplan, while new offices, stages, and retail space will also be added to the property.
The Foster + Partner design organises Television City into two distinct zones dedicated to content production and media operations, with Pereira’s buildings at the centre.
As the complex was designated a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2018, Pereira’s work will be preserved and updated, while new buildings will be placed along the perimeter on former parking lots.
According to Foster + Partners, it seeks to make the development greener and more community-oriented.
“Our Television City scheme reinvigorates Pereira’s landmark building and extends this approach across the whole site, with a series of vibrant new workspaces, pocket parks, and green rooftops that merge the experience of indoors and outdoors,” said Foster + Partner head of studio David Summerfield.
“We are honoured to be part of the team making this project a reality – transforming a parking lot into a green landscaped campus that will give back to Los Angeles and generate long-term growth.”
Architectural design across the masterplan includes buildings “flooded with natural light” and the use of locally sourced low-carbon materials and renewable energy.
The development will be a “low-rise multi-modal campus” was informed by the Los Angeles Case Study Houses, a series of houses designed and built by architects post World War II that experimented with affordable, midcentury design.
It will also be “LA’s first all-electric studio” according to the studio.
Located in West Hollywood, the complex sits just outside the spread of one of the recent deadly Los Angeles wildfires, which were fully contained as of February 1 according to the New York Times.
In total, the two largest fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures across the city.
According to Foster + Partners, planning decisions behind Television City were “more or less concluded” before they broke out.
A timeline for construction has not been released, although property owner and real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners hopes to complete the project before the impending 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games according to local outlet Beverly Press Park Lebrea News.
Television City was previously owned by CBS before Hackman Capital Partners bought the property in 2018, thus spurring its redevelopment. CBS still exclusively leases its production facilities.
Other Foster + Partners projects in progress include a Brazilian beachfront hotel and skyscrapers in Manila.
The images are courtesy of Foster + Partners.
