Title: “The Stage” @ Building 5
Location of Proejct: Savannah, GA
Project Completion Date: Sept. 2021
Firm Name: Savannah College of Art and Design

Short Description: The Stage” @ Building 5, home to state-of-the-art production studio/offices for university students/staff, gave new life to a dilapidated 33,000 sf windowless warehouse in one of city’s most industrial areas.

The building is designed with a natural divide of the two major programmatic functions (film studio and office/workplace) via an interior "breezeway." The breezeway helps to physically and audibly divide staff work areas from the filming studios while doubling as an event space and staging/support area for the studios.

The design intent emphasizes the industrial aesthetic and open space, staying true to its original industrial use.

Architect's Statement: The design mandate for "The Stage at Building 5" was to give new life to a dilapidated 33,000 square-foot windowless warehouse in one of city’s most industrial areas, and turn it into a state-of-the-art film studio and office workplace while maintaining the strong, engaging and eclectic aesthetic.

The two main building programs (film studio and office/workplace) are separated by a breezeway, which helps to naturally divide the program between staff workspace and the larger-scaled film studios. With large roll-up glass doors at both ends, the breezeway also doubles as an event space and staging/support area for the studios. Three large 8’ ceiling fans provide passive cooling along with a natural sound break between the two main programs.

The studio side is split into two filming spaces divided by a core of offices, storage, and common control rooms. The primary 10,000 square-foot filming studio has a main stage area where the original roof was removed to accommodate the 25’ clear lighting grid, which is standard for film production. The Stage houses the very first extended reality virtual stage built for student use in the entire world.

On the opposite side of the breezeway, a central core which is shared between staff and production areas houses dressing rooms, a “green room” for talent, hair and make-up area, gender neutral restroom, and the main office space with multiple support areas. The office space is defined by perimeter offices to the north with large expanses of glass, which allow natural light to permeate through to the core 1500 sf open office area. Along the east and west perimeter, “modules” that do not engage ceiling act as dividers / furniture pieces that preserve the feel of openness. Similar to the north perimeter, natural light comes through large glass walls and over the volumes and fills the space with filtered light. The program is comprised of multiple breakout areas including formal and informal spaces where teams can gather to pin up and critique, individual private booths for zoom calls and phone chats, two formal conference rooms, three editing suites, and a private screening room for videographers.

The site for “The Stage,” located in an industrial area surrounded by concrete plants and logistics depots, is adjacent to a former meat-processing plant turned movie studio purchased earlier by the University to expand the film and television major. In response to the industrial context, two types of metal panels and the existing CMU are the main materials on all four facades. The east façade incorporates large-scaled posters of award-winning student productions, celebrating the creative work that occurs behind the studio walls and energizing that face of the building. The integrated poster frames allow to easily swap posters in and out so this facade becomes a point of pride for the film students to earn the spot to have their work acknowledged in this manner.

To provide warmth to the industrial exteriors and delineate the two primary entries, oiled teak wraps up and over each entrance to invite students and faculty into the building.
Although the façade is unique in comparison to neighboring buildings due to its modern interpretation of industrial materials and its layout, it still speaks a common language with its neighbors.

“The Stage” renovation project transformed a dilapidated logistics warehouse into a modern, energy-efficient, functional film studio and office support space for the University’s film and television major. The adaptive reuse of the space with a new introspective building parti and modern building detailing hold true to the minimalist industrial aesthetic of the area while using recycled and existing materials to create an inviting facade. Before-and-after photos show a stunning conversion from a pure industrial space with a simple exterior to a modern exterior containing opaque monolithic state-of-the-art film studios to the bright, open, and airy workspaces.

The studio program has a high R-value envelope via its inherent high STC value double framed walls and highly insulated roof. The office space utilizes passive daylighting scheme in the office workspaces combined with a new energy-compliant insulated roof, fully insulated walls, new energy-efficient HVAC systems, and LED resulting in an energy efficient building design that reduces the carbon footprint of a typically “energy guzzling” building type