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Gehry-designed Warner Bros. Second Century expansion is now complete

2023-05-17T13:01:00-04:00

The Gehry Partners-designed Second Century expansion project for Warner Bros. is now complete, Urbanize LA reports. This news comes a year after the exterior finishes of the office complex were said to be nearly done.

Breaking ground in early 2020, the 800,000-square-foot structure, resembling staggered icebergs through its glass façade, now rises in full view above the 134 freeway in Burbank, California. It comprises two buildings, one seven stories high and the other nine, atop a large underground parking space.

Previously on Archinect: Exterior finishes of Gehry's Warner Bros. Second Century expansion nearly complete

The project was built through a joint venture between Worthe Real Estate Group and Stockbridge Real Estate Fund. It forms part of a major expansion of Warner Bros.’ headquarters, which includes the acquisition of the surrounding Burbank Studios.

The complex will house around 4,500 Warner Bros. employees. The completion of this endeavor coincides with the 100th anniv...

Exterior finishes of Gehry's Warner Bros. Second Century expansion nearly complete

2022-04-18T14:08:00-04:00

Just north of the SR-134 Freeway in Burbank, vertical construction is all but finished for the Warner Bros. Second Century expansion, and exterior finishes are climbing the hulking concrete buildings.

In August of last year, it was reported that the concrete frames of the Frank Gehry-designed project had risen. Now, as seen through new photos, the exterior finishes of the Warner Bros. Second Century expansion, which resembles staggered blocks, look to be reaching completion. The project is set to be complete in 2023 and will consist of two office towers, one seven stories high and the other nine, spanning 800,000 square feet atop a large underground parking structure.

Previously on Archinect: Concrete frames of Frank Gehry-designed Second Century Project have risen

Concrete frames of Frank Gehry-designed Second Century Project have risen

2021-08-11T18:07:00-04:00

The concrete frames of Frank Gehry’s Second Century Project for Warner Bros. have risen, as reported by Urbanize Los Angeles.

The project, a pair of office towers resembling icebergs rising above the 134 freeway in Burbank, California, broke ground in early 2020. The undertaking is part of a major expansion of Warner Bros.’ headquarters, which includes the acquisition of the surrounding Burbank Studios.

The project is being developed through a joint venture between Worthe Real Estate Group and Stockbridge Real Estate. The two buildings, one seven stories high and the other at nine stories, will span 800,000 square feet, atop a large underground parking structure.

Previously on Archinect: Gehry-designed Second Century Project for Warner Bros. breaks ground

On the side facing the freeway, the buildings are seen as one long sculptural glass façade. On the opposite side that faces the interior of Burbank Studios, a punched metal façade of staggered, slanted fragments is featured.

Upp...

Gehry-designed Second Century Project for Warner Bros. breaks ground

2020-01-16T15:02:00-05:00

Warner Bros. on Tuesday officially broke ground on a pair of Frank Gehry-designed office towers, which when completed will mark a major expansion of the Burbank-based movie and TV studio’s headquarters. [...] The construction endeavor is part of a larger expansion of Warner Bros.’ footprint in the area that includes the acquisition of Burbank Studios.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the high-profile Second Century Project was joined by California Governor Gavin Newsom, Burbank's new Mayor Sharon Springer, Warner Bros. Chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff, and architect Frank Gehry himself.

Yesterday, Gov. @GavinNewsom and Burbank Mayor Sharon Springer joined Warner Bros. Chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff, architect @frankogehry and Worthe Real Estate’s Jeffrey Worthe at groundbreaking on two new Gehry-designed office buildings for Warner Bros.’ expanded campus. pic.twitter.com/b5mFWNj8Tq
— Warner Bros. (@warnerbros) January 15, 2020

"It’s a legendary site," L.A. Daily News quotes Frank Gehry, who will be 91 next month, saying at the event. "I’ve been here many times over the years — not as a movie star or anything like that — and Warner Bros. is a legendary company. We have to create a legendary building for all this legendary history."

Rendering: Sora, image courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP.

The two office towers, designed to appear as "icebergs flo...

Work begins on Gehry-designed Warner Bros. 'Floating Icebergs' expansion

2019-10-09T13:47:00-04:00

A large dirt pit has emerged at the back of The Burbank Studios lot, as work begins for a Frank Gehry-designed office complex which will be occupied by Warner Bros. [...] Two mid-rise buildings -standing seven and nine stories in height- will overlook the 134 Freeway, providing 800,000 square feet of office space.

Called Second Century Project, the large-scale office development in Burbank, California first appeared on Archinect in April this year.

The complex of buildings, designed to appear as "icebergs floating along the freeway," is scheduled to be fully functional in 2023 to coincide with Warner Bros.'s 100th anniversary.

Rendering: Sora, image courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP.

Frank Gehry to design new Warner Bros. HQ towers

2019-04-26T14:21:00-04:00

Warner Bros. has sweeping plans to expand its Burbank headquarters by acquiring a nearby studio complex and moving into two Frank Gehry-designed office towers fashioned to look like icebergs floating alongside the 134 Freeway.

Rendering: Sora, image courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP.

"Once upon a time, Hollywood Studios had an important architectural presence in the city—they were like monuments to the movie-making process," the LA Times quotes Frank Gehry saying. "With this project, I was trying to recapture that feeling of old Hollywood splendor."

Rendering: Sora, image courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP.

The new office towers are scheduled to break ground later this year.

Warner Brothers proposes aerial tramway to the Hollywood Sign

2018-07-12T13:53:00-04:00

[Warner Bros.] would foot the bill for an aerial tramway to transport visitors to and from the Hollywood sign, starting from a parking structure next to its Burbank lot. The effort, dubbed the Hollywood Skyway, would cost the studio an estimated $100 million, according to a person close to the company who was not authorized to comment. The tramway would take visitors on a 6-minute ride more than 1 mile up the back of Mt. Lee to a new visitors center near the sign [...]

Several cable transport solutions are being proposed for popular Los Angeles landmarks right now: besides the gondola system that could connect Dodger Stadium with Union Station, the idea of an aerial tramway carrying visitors up to the Hollywood Sign has been brought back to life by media giant Warner Brothers and pitched to city officials.

Artist impression of the proposed Hollywood Skyway. Image: Warner Bros.

"Similar solutions in the past have been shot down over concerns that they would lead to the commercial exploitation of Griffith Park," reports the LA Times. "The Warner Bros. proposal will surely face tough questions from locals and a lengthy review process to assess the effects on the environment. Many have also voiced concerns about how such a project would affect wildlife in the area."