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
Resiliency | Nov 8, 2022
Oregon wildfire risk law prompts extensive backlash from property owners
A bipartisan bill aimed at protecting property owners from wildfires that was passed by the Oregon legislature has prompted a strong backlash.
Building Team | Nov 7, 2022
U.S. commercial buildings decreased energy use intensity from 2012 to 2018
The recently released 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) by the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that the total floorspace in commercial buildings has increased but energy consumption has not, compared with the last survey analyzing the landscape in 2012.
| Nov 7, 2022
Mixed-use tower in China features world’s highest outdoor pool
Guangxi China Resources Tower, a new 403-meter-tall (1,322 feet) skyscraper in Nanning, China features the world’s highest outdoor pool—at 323 meters (1,060 feet) above grade.
Building Team | Nov 3, 2022
More than half of U.S. contractors say finding skilled workers is big barrier to their growth
More than half of U.S. contractors (55%) say finding enough skilled workers is one of the biggest barriers to growing their business, according to a DEWALT Powering the Future Survey.
Codes and Standards | Nov 2, 2022
New York City construction official wants to boost design-build
The new associate commissioner of alternative delivery in New York City’s Department of Design and Construction aims to encourage more design-build project delivery in the city.
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.
