Since the 1970s, Austin PBS, birthplace of the Austin City Limits TV series, has been based inside the communications building on the University of Texas campus—a space it has long outgrown. In 2017, the design and planning began for a new state-of-the-art facility located in Austin Community College’s Highland Campus, a former shopping mall.
Designed by Austin architecture firm Studio Steinbomer, the roughly 70,000-square-foot facility, opening this year, has three TV studios. One studio serves as a live audience and community outreach venue. This 6,500-square-foot space has retractable seats and can be reconfigured for live music, town halls, and other productions with live audiences. The other two studios accommodate non-audience programming.
The three studios share walls with workspaces, so the design team placed prime importance on acoustics and sound deadening. The live-audience studio has a floating slab, a silent air conditioner, and highly absorptive materials. So a meeting in the next-door conference room would be undisturbed by a live music performance on the other side of its walls.
Austin PBS’s new home is the first 12-gig digital broadcast network facility for any public television in the US, according to a statement. To highlight the state-of-the art tech, the architects kept much of the 300 miles of cable fully exposed, housing it in custom channels cut out of the ceiling.
A large portion of the building is partially subgrade. So to mitigate the feeling of being underground, the lighting quality mimics skylights and the sun’s movement, creating circadian rhythms that allow people to sense the time by the quality of light. Interior finishes include a mix of bright colors, natural warm wood tones, and nature-simulating colors. And whimsical, industry-specific details include On-Air lights indicating occupied bathrooms.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Austin Community College
Developer: RedLeaf Properties
Design Architect - Exterior: Gensler Austin
Design Architect, Architect of Record - Interiors: Studio Steinbomer (interior remodel level one, and interior of addition)
MEP engineer: Bay & Associates Inc.
Structural engineers: Cardno and Tsen Engineering
General contractor: Rogers-O’Brien Construction
Construction manager: PMA (Project Management Advisors)
Related Stories
University Buildings | Nov 2, 2022
New Univ. of Calif. Riverside business school building will support hybrid learning
A design-build partnership of Moore Ruble Yudell and McCarthy Building Companies will collaborate on a new business school building at the University of California at Riverside.
Building Team | Nov 1, 2022
Nonresidential construction spending increases slightly in September, says ABC
National nonresidential construction spending was up by 0.5% in September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
| Nov 1, 2022
Updated Florida building codes helped newer homes withstand Hurricane Ian
Newer homes seemed to fare much better than older structures during Hurricane Ian, suggesting that updated Florida building codes made a difference.
Wood | Nov 1, 2022
A European manufacturer says its engineered wood products can store carbon for decades
Metsä Wood, a Finland-based manufacturer of engineered wood products, says its sustainable, material-efficient products can store carbon for decades, helping to combat climate change.
Data Centers | Oct 31, 2022
Data center construction facing record-breaking inflation, delays
Data center construction projects face record-breaking inflation amid delays to materials deliveries and competition for skilled labor, according to research from global professional services company Turner & Townsend.
School Construction | Oct 31, 2022
Claremont McKenna College science center will foster integrated disciplinary research
The design of the Robert Day Sciences Center at Claremont McKenna College will support “a powerful, multi-disciplinary, computational approach to the grand socio-scientific challenges and opportunities of our time—gene, brain, and climate,” says Hiram E. Chodosh, college president.
Energy Efficient Roofing | Oct 28, 2022
Rooftop mini turbines can pair with solar panels
A new type of wind turbine can pair well on roofs with solar panels, offering a double source of green energy generation for buildings.
Building Team | Oct 27, 2022
Who are you? Four archetypes shaping workspaces
The new lifestyle of work requires new thinking about the locations where people work, what their workflow looks like, and how they are performing their best work.
Codes and Standards | Oct 27, 2022
Florida’s Surfside-inspired safety law puts pressure on condo associations
A Florida law intended to prevent tragedies like the Surfside condominium collapse will place a huge financial burden on condo associations and strain architecture and engineering resources in the state.
University Buildings | Oct 27, 2022
The Collaboratory Building will expand the University of Florida’s School of Design, Construction, and Planning
Design firm Brooks + Scarpa recently broke ground on a new addition to the University of Florida’s School of Design, Construction, and Planning (DCP).
