IMAX West Coast Headquarters
Playa Vista
AWARD OF MERIT
Owner IMAX
Lead Designer, Civil Engineer Gensler
Contractor Webcor Builders
Structural Engineer Saiful Bouquet
MEP ACCO Engineered Systems
Plumbing Pan Pacific Mechanical
Electrical Unison Electric
Subcontractors Woodbridge Glass; Superior Drywall Systems; Troyer; Morris Shea Bridge Co.; ACSS; Ben F. Smith; MS Rouse; Borbon
Constructed on the Spruce Goose Building Site for Howard Hughes in Playa Vista, this three-story structural steel building includes 66,000 sq ft of offices, screening and film production rooms, production facilities and a 143-space parking structure.
A skylighted amphitheater acts as the building’s hub, and a grand lobby connects two floors by an atrium. Glass-enclosed conference rooms overlook the lobby.
An accelerated schedule required extended hours and “work-around” scenarios, and the team coordinated with local building officials to approve design changes and complete the project ahead of schedule and within budget.
Soil was not allowed to be removed from the site, so the team used DeWaal drilled piles to compress and displace the soil laterally, avoiding surface spoils.
