by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

How do you . . . design a sustainable sound stage?

Summary: Warner Bros. Entertainment in Burbank, Calif., recently completed what is said to be the first green sound stage built by a major Hollywood studio. The company’s 21,600-square-foot Stage 23 is pending LEED™ certification and incorporates numerous sustainable elements including use of sustainable, reused, and recycled construction materials and a solar electrical system now being installed. Warner Bros. Corporate Real Estate group and Construction Services departments were project managers, and HLW International was the project architect.

Finding the green niche
“Warner Bros. for many years has had an Environmental Initiatives Division and has been a leader in sustainability in the entertainment industry,” says Rasa Bauza, AIA, who is the director of design & construction for corporate real estate for Warner Bros. Entertainment. Bauza was the lead on the Stage 23 project. “This is our second project being submitted for LEED certification,” she says. “The first was a commercial interiors pilot project that received LEED Silver certification. We wanted to try something in new construction.”

The concept for Stage 23 was initiated about two years ago. “We felt it would be great to try a new building program that doesn’t have a specific, easy niche in the LEED rating system,” she says. “It’s an unusual building with no daylight. It‘s a warehouse type of building and functions differently. To try to fit that use into the LEED rating system we had to come up with distinct and clear definitions of how to place a new building type that wasn’t contemplated in the LEED rating system. I think it helps because we are an industry that really does care about sustainability. That was something we needed to tackle, not only for us but for the industry—how do you build a green stage?”

Sustainable lumber among the green design elements
A 1930s set lighting and grip storage facility previously stood on the site of Stage 23. It was deconstructed, and its wood frame reclaimed for recycling. This included more than 25,000 board feet of vintage Douglas fir timbers, which was recycled for furniture, such as conference tables and for various television productions. Bauza says a big element in designing the green sound stage was the use of Forest Stewardship Council-certified lumber, for example, for the stage’s 60-foot trusses. They arrived in components and were assembled and craned on site.

Stage 23 has fly ash in its concrete foundation, and the perimeter has porous asphalt for drainage to prevent runoff into the Los Angeles River. The sound stage has energy-efficient fluorescent house lighting, recycled steel and metals, and non-toxic paint and adhesives. Warner Bros. also worked with the city on incorporating condensers inside for daytime cooling, offsetting energy use from off-peak hours. There is a reflective roof, and solar panels are being installed. The panels will form a 100-kilowatt solar electrical system for generating clean energy. Warner Bros. Studio also expanded its solar electrical system, which will now generate more than 500 kilowatts of clean energy.

Pursuing LEED for actual construction
Bauza points out the sound stage facility is a low-energy building since there is not always a production taking place. The sound stage has no permanent mechanical system and doesn’t require much heat. Its electrical transformers are brought in only when there is a studio production. Since Stage 23 is not constant use, Warner Bros is hoping the USGBC considers it for its actual construction, as opposed to considering it under the established LEED for New Construction rating.

Bauza sees continued sustainability for Warner Bros. “We are a campus environment, with 100 acres on our main lot and 60 acres on our ranch lot. We have many types of buildings. As we have the opportunity to build and remodel each of those different types of buildings, we are always asking ourselves how we can do the right thing with sustainability and energy conservation. It is good for the company, for the people, and for the bottom line.”