Strange bedfellows make good roommates in stations' design. (Real Estate Awards--Dealing in Hard Times).WHEN Emmis Communications Emmis Communications (NASDAQ: EMMS) is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio and television stations and magazines in the United States, Belgium, Hungary and Slovakia. Corp. acquired KZLA-FM (93.9) in 2000, the country music radio station braced for major change. Plans called for KZLA to eventually move out of its Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile and a half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's east border with Hollywood at Marmont Lane to its west border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis street. studios and into new digs shared with an altogether unlikely roommate: hip-hop station KPWR-FM (Power 106). Could hip-hop and country live together in peace? Indianapolis-based Emmis hired the design firm of Hellmuth Obata and Kassabaum Inc. to create a space that would allow their vastly different vibes to coexist. When the two stations were finally moved under one roof last year, the plan was so successful that it earned Hellmuth Obata the Business Journal's 2003 award for best interior design. Emmis' goal was to blend KZLA into KPWR's existing offices on West Olive Avenue in Burbank's media and entertainment district, without disrupting KPWR's operation. Both stations had to stay on the air during the consolidation. While it sought to create a shared space Shared space is a traffic engineering philosophy pioneered by the Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman. The approach relies on the principle that road users' behaviour is more likely to be affected by the street environment and design than by the traditional deployment of measures for corporate departments like human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. and business administration, Emmis wanted to maintain the integrity of each station's culture. "We had to strike a balance between the edgy design of hip-hop and the homey warmth of country," said Brett A. Shwery, the Hellmuth Obata principal in charge of the project. New techniques The design challenge led to innovations that may see further use in an era of continuing media consolidation. The 23,000-square-foot space on the building's eighth floor is a blend of cutting-edge technology and efficient space for shared business operations Business operations are those activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. Compare business processes. The outcome of business operations is the harvesting of value from assets . "It was important to find a continuity of the two diverse cultures," Shwery said. Each station has its own disc jockey disc jockey (DJ) Person who plays recorded music on radio or television or at a nightclub or other live venue. Disc jockey programs became the economic base of many radio stations in the U.S. after World War II. rooms and green rooms where guests can sit before they go on air. Sales, marketing and traffic departments were grouped together by station. But for Shwery, the most exciting aspects of the project are the studios and the conference room. Led by technician Steven Lee This article is about the alpine skier. For other people named Steven or Stephen Lee, see Stephen Lee (disambiguation). Steven Lee (born August 6, 1962 in Falls Creek) is an Australian alpine skier. , Hellmuth Obata built more than a dozen studios: four on-air studios, six production studios, a voice-tracking studio, a mixing studio, an announce booth studio and a conference studio. There is also a server/control room, an engineering room and music libraries. When artists visit the station and perform live, the shared conference center converts into a performance room, with pivot doors that open to a large corridor with built-in banquet seating that can be used as overflow space. Other common areas include a reception area, a lunchroom and a mail/copy center. The Hellmuth Obata project team, including Shwery, Lee and Isabel Ruiz-Martin, the designer, implemented the six-phased project in 26 weeks under a tight budget. The move was completed last November. "We are very happy to have worked with (Hellmuth Obata) on this project," said Emmis Vice President and Market Manager Val Maid. "I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how this partnership could have been any better. We love the outcome." This is the second year in a row that Hellmuth Obata has won the award. Last year it was recognized for its work on the IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) e-business center in Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. . The "Innovation Center" has been largely shut down, but the interior design won numerous awards, including the International Interior Design Association's "Best of Competition" in 2001. HOK is also the company behind KUSC-FM's (91.5) studios--USC's radio station. RELATED ARTICLE: Best Interior Design Project: Emmis Communications Corp. studios Players: Hellmuth Obata and Kassabaum Inc., Brett Shwery, Principal-in-Charge; Isabel Ruiz-Martin, Designer; Steven Lee, Technical The Deal: HOK designers had to overcome not only the logistical challenges inherent in merging the offices of two radio stations, but also to blend the divergent cultures reflected in the respective hip-hop and country playlists. |
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