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)
![Austin PBS int](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Austin%20PBS%20int.jpg)
![Austin PBS int 2](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Austin%20PBS%20int2.jpg)
![Austin PBS int 3](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Austin%20PBS%20int%203.jpg)
Related Stories
Plumbing | Jun 7, 2022
Sloan launches ‘Sinks Beyond the Restroom’ innovation
Sloan, the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial plumbing systems, has launched its ‘Sinks Beyond the Restroom’ concept.
Building Team | Jun 7, 2022
Announcing construction inclusion week 2022: October 17-21, 2022
Save the date for Construction Inclusion Week 2022: October 17-21, 2022.
University Buildings | Jun 7, 2022
Newfoundland university STEM building emulates natural elements, local traditions
Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) recently opened a new building that will provide interdisciplinary learning and research space for Faculties of Science and Engineering.
Codes and Standards | Jun 2, 2022
Guide helps schools find funding for buildings from federal, state government
New Buildings Institute (NBI) recently released a guide to help schools identify funding programs for facilities improvements available from federal and state government programs.
Airports | Jun 2, 2022
SOM-designed International Arrival Facility at Seattle’s Sea–Tac airport features the world’s largest aerial walkway
The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)-designed International Arrivals Facility (IAF) at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has opened, replacing a 50-year-old arrival facility.
Women in Design+Construction | Jun 2, 2022
Women in Architecture: How HMC Pioneers Gender Equality
A survey by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) shows that while women account for nearly half of graduates from architecture programs, they only make up about 15 percent of licensed architects.
Codes and Standards | Jun 2, 2022
New design guide for hybrid steel-mass timber frames released
The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) has released the first-ever set of U.S. recommendations for hybrid steel frames with mass timber floors, according to a news release.
Mass Timber | Jun 2, 2022
Brooklyn is home to New York City’s first mass timber condo building
In the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope, the newly completed Timber House is New York City’s first mass timber condominium building and its largest mass timber project (by height and square footage).
Codes and Standards | Jun 1, 2022
HKS, U. of Texas Dallas partner on brain health study
HKS and The University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth are conducting a six-month study to improve the way the firm’s employees work, collaborate, and innovate, both individually and as an organization, according to a news release.
Building Team | Jun 1, 2022
Pennsylvania’s Longwood Gardens to get a $250 million transformation
Longwood Gardens, a botanical garden with about 1,100 acres in Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley, recently announced plans to transform its core area of conservatory gardens.