flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Currently Reading

Loyola Marymount University completes a new home for its acclaimed School of Film and Television

University Buildings

Loyola Marymount University completes a new home for its acclaimed School of Film and Television

In addition to the four-story Fitzpatrick Pavilion, SOM designed the open-air Drollinger Family Stage, the school’s first outdoor performance venue.


By Novid Parsi, Contributing Editor | December 22, 2022
Loyola Marymount University Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion by SOM
The Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk

California’s Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has completed two new buildings for arts and media education at its Westchester campus. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television, which is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 10 film schools. Also designed by SOM, the open-air Drollinger Family Stage is an outdoor lecture and performance space.

The four-story Fitzpatrick Pavilion features a semi-transparent brise soleil façade that shades outdoor spaces and seating while at the same time revealing the activity inside. The facility includes an 80-seat theater as well as open-air social spaces in the theater’s courtyard and on its rooftop. The Fitzpatrick Pavilion offers students 24-hour access to stop motion, film, and camera-directing studios, in addition to technology-rich post-production and animation labs.

Designed for the LMU College of Communication and Fine Arts, the Drollinger Family Stage is LMU’s first outdoor performance venue. The stage will host live theatrical and dance events, concerts, public lectures, and other engagements. The 1,600-sf stage can be fully enclosed or open on all sides.

Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Drollinger Family Stage designed by SOM  © SOM | Dave Burk
Loyola Marymount University's Drollinger Family Stage, designed by SOM. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk

Previous SOM-designed facilities for LMU include an adaptive reuse project that provided administrative offices for LMU’s marketing, communications and university relations staff, and a new building for the Graduate School of Film and Television. Now underway, the renovation of LMU’s Strub Theatre will turn a traditional theater and dance stage into a flexible black box theater.

On the Building Team:
Architecture, interiors, structure, graphics: SOM

School of Film and Television consultants:
General contractor: WEO
Construction manager: AMA Project Management
Landscape: MIG
Civil engineering: KPFF
MEP: AMA Engineers
Lighting: HLB
Acoustics and audiovisual: Waveguide
Telecom/security: ITSDG

Drollinger Stage consultants:
General contractor: WEO
Civil engineering: KPFF
MEP: AMA Engineers
Lighting: HLB
Acoustics and audiovisual: Waveguide
Telecom a security: ITSDG

The Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
The Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
The Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
The Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
The Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Loyola Marymount University's Drollinger Family Stage, designed by SOM. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Loyola Marymount University's Drollinger Family Stage, designed by SOM. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Loyola Marymount University's Drollinger Family Stage, designed by SOM. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Loyola Marymount University's Drollinger Family Stage, designed by SOM. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Loyola Marymount University's Drollinger Family Stage, designed by SOM. Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk
Photo: © SOM | Dave Burk

Related Stories

University Buildings | Jan 19, 2022

Eastern Michigan University launches major student housing project

The institution is working with Gilbane Development Company to build or renovate more than 2,700 on-campus beds.

University Buildings | Jan 11, 2022

Designing for health sciences education: supporting student well-being

While student and faculty health and well-being should be a top priority in all spaces within educational facilities, this article will highlight some key considerations.

University Buildings | Jan 4, 2022

Henning Larsen to design new university building in the Alps

The project will be Henning Larsen’s first in Austria.

University Buildings | Nov 18, 2021

Pratt Institute Residence Hall completes, opens

Hanrahan Meyers Architects, in collaboration with Cannon Design, designed the project.

Designers / Specifiers / Landscape Architects | Nov 16, 2021

‘Desire paths’ and college campus design

If a campus is not as efficient as it could be, end users will use their feet to let designers know about it.

University Buildings | Nov 15, 2021

Red River College Polytechnic’s new Manitou a bi Bit daziigae opens

Diamond Schmitt and Number TEN Architectural Group designed the project.

Cladding and Facade Systems | Oct 26, 2021

14 projects recognized by DOE for high-performance building envelope design

The inaugural class of DOE’s Better Buildings Building Envelope Campaign includes a medical office building that uses hybrid vacuum-insulated glass and a net-zero concrete-and-timber community center.

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category




Mass Timber

Bjarke Ingels Group designs a mass timber cube structure for the University of Kansas

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and executive architect BNIM have unveiled their design for a new mass timber cube structure called the Makers’ KUbe for the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. A six-story, 50,000-sf building for learning and collaboration, the light-filled KUbe will house studio and teaching space, 3D-printing and robotic labs, and a ground-level cafe, all organized around a central core.

halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021