A major movie studio needed a new vault to protect its irreplaceable negatives for films released after 1982. The studio was against installing a fire-sprinkler system. But a consultant reminded the studio that an insurer would require some sort of water system to protect the building itself if not the films, which are uninsurable.
The studio turned to SmithGroupJJR, which designed the 415,000-sf National A/V Conservation Center in Culpeper, Va., where the Library of Congress houses its film, video, broadcast, and recorded sound materials.
In that project, local code officials required a clean-agent fire suppression system with a pre-action water sprinkler system as backup. SmithGroupJJR went with a primary system that uses FM-200, a clean, colorless, environmentally friendly gaseous suppressant.
For the movie studio, SmithGroup came up with a “Russian nesting doll” design. SVP Hal Davis, the firm’s Cultural Studio Leader, explains that the vault is its own separate building, equipped with a clean-agent suppression system. The inner shell maintains temperature and humidity at just the right levels to preserve the film negatives. A second structure, fitted with a sprinkler system, will be built over the vault in such a way that water can’t get to the film stock. The roof actually diverts water away from the vault.
Construction of the nearly 10,000-sf structure kicked off in November. Davis says the structural redundancy, while adding to total cost, enabled the building to exceed the regional seismic code standard.
The design has attracted the attention of another studio. Davis believes the concept could have applications for other buildings that protect valuable books, paintings, artifacts, and documents.
Read about more innovations from BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report.
Related Stories
| Sep 12, 2011
Living Buildings: Are AEC Firms up to the Challenge?
Modular Architecture > You’ve done a LEED Gold or two, maybe even a LEED Platinum. But are you and your firm ready to take on the Living Building Challenge? Think twice before you say yes.
| May 25, 2011
Olympic site spurs green building movement in UK
London's environmentally friendly 2012 Olympic venues are fuelling a green building movement in Britain.
| May 18, 2011
Improvements add to Detroit convention center’s appeal
Interior and exterior renovations and updates will make the Detroit Cobo Center more appealing to conventioneers. A new 40,000-sf ballroom will take advantage of the center’s riverfront location, with views of the river and downtown.
| May 18, 2011
Carnegie Hall vaults into the 21st century with a $200 million renovation
Historic Carnegie Hall in New York City is in the midst of a major $200 million renovation that will bring the building up to contemporary standards, increase educational and backstage space, and target LEED Silver.
| Apr 13, 2011
Southern Illinois park pavilion earns LEED Platinum
Erin’s Pavilion, a welcome and visitors center at the 80-acre Edwin Watts Southwind Park in Springfield, Ill., earned LEED Platinum. The new 16,000-sf facility, a joint project between local firm Walton and Associates Architects and the sustainability consulting firm Vertegy, based in St. Louis, serves as a community center and special needs education center, and is named for Erin Elzea, who struggled with disabilities during her life.
| Apr 13, 2011
Expanded Museum of the Moving Image provides a treat for the eyes
The expansion and renovation of the Museum of the Moving Image in the Astoria section of Queens, N.Y., involved a complete redesign of its first floor and the construction of a three-story 47,000-sf addition.
| Apr 12, 2011
Long-awaited San Francisco center is music to jazz organization’s ears
After 28 years, SFJAZZ is getting its first permanent home. The San Francisco-based nonprofit, which is dedicated to advancing the art of jazz through concerts and educational programs, contracted local design firm Mark Cavagnero Associates and general contractor Hathaway Dinwiddie to create a modern performance center in the city’s Hayes Valley neighborhood
| Apr 12, 2011
Entrance pavilion adds subtle style to Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
A $13 million gift from the Otis Booth Foundation is funding a new entrance pavilion at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. CO Architects, Los Angeles, is designing the frameless structure with an energy-efficient curtain wall, vertical suspension rods, and horizontal knife plates to make it as transparent as possible.
| Apr 5, 2011
Zaha Hadid’s civic center design divides California city
Architect Zaha Hadid is in high demand these days, designing projects in Hong Kong, Milan, and Seoul, not to mention the London Aquatics Center, the swimming arena for the 2012 Olympics. But one of the firm’s smaller clients, the city of Elk Grove, Calif., recently conjured far different kinds of aquatic life when members of the City Council and the public chose words like “squid,” “octopus,” and “starfish” to describe the latest renderings for a proposed civic center.