brooks + scarpa: reactor films

‘reactor films’ by brooks + scarpa, santa monica, californiaimage © marvin randall images courtesy of brooks + scarpa

los angeles-based practice brooks + scarpa has remodelled the 7,000 square foot interior of an art deco masonry building dating from the 1930s in santa monica, california into ‘reactor films’, an office and recording / production space for TV commercials and music videos. completed within fourteen weeks, the project was phased and developed in sections to work with the construction schedule and explore each programmatic area in depth. construction began during the first week of design, greatly impacting the production process, using freehand drawing techniques on 11" x 17" vellum for rapid communication between the client, architect, fabricators and contractors.

placed within a used ocean shipping container purchased from the long beach shipping yard, the conference room is positioned at the center of the space to engage with the street. the unit was inexpensive and readily available due to the current economic climate and resulting trade imbalance with japan. the exterior surfaces have been manipulated, adding voids and fragments to produce a conceal and reveal strategy, generating a dynamic interaction between the new element with the existing building. the orthogonal configuration places walls, rooms and windows in a delicate tension balance pushing the piece into the realm of sculptural expressiveness.

steps into the conference room image © marvin rand

interior of the conference room image © marvin rand

view of the 7,000 square foot interior from the entry image © marvin rand

lounge image © marvin rand

office and desk with original mac computer image © marvin rand

view towards the street entry image © marvin rand

door closed image © marvin rand

door open image © marvin rand

floor plate and wall details image © marvin rand

stair detail image © marvin rand

original art deco facade image © marvin rand

project info:

project’s formal name: reactor films location of project: santa monica, california client/owner: stoney road productions and reactor films total square footage: 7000 sq. ft. costs: 350,000.00 usd (50.00 usd/sq. ft.) includes building shell upgrades architects: brooks + scarpa (formerly pugh + scarpa) personnel in firm to be credited: lawrence scarpa – principal- in-charge.  angela brooks, jackson butler, adam davis, mike ferguson, john jennings, gwynne pugh and lawrence scarpa – project design team.  mike ferguson, john jennings and lawrence scarpa (with dave scott) – furniture and fixture design. – dave scott of desu – steel and furniture fabrication.  brian crommie and tom hinerfeld of bt builders – construction team. consultants: gwynne pugh – structural engineering; dave scott – steel and furniture fabrication; richard godfrey – light trough general contractors: bt builders, inc. photography: marvin rand