Located in the heart of the Burbank Media District, “The Tower” stands above its surroundings, offering panoramic views in every direction, unrivaled visibility, and notable distinction. With the likes of The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros, and Comcast/NBCUniversal, next door, the Tower is the preeminent vertical campus for media and entertainment companies. This also perfectly positioned The Tower to reflect that creativity within its own walls. Furthermore, it made sense that the art that filled it would be sourced by local artists, giving it even more of a personal connection to the surrounding community.
Repositioning
Video
The Tower
Burbank, CA
Historically, the relationship between visual arts and architecture has been through museum or gallery spaces. With “The Tower” we chose to challenge this exclusive relationship and see what would occur if we took the common spaces in an office tower and converted them to ‘museum-like environments. Our hope was to allow the daily office activities to occur unencumbered while adding the visual and emotional richness that ‘art’ spaces provide.
We broke up the monotony of communal office space by transforming “The Tower” into an immersive artistic experience. Common areas typically used as transitional or circulation spaces were repurposed to resemble an open gallery. We created a ‘lounge’, that functions in a similar fashion to a living room in a residence, and an open cafe/coffee shop. The design and programed elements of these spaces created opportunities for the people to interact with one another in a truly unique way.
Works of art created by local artists Wyatt Mills, Hueman, John Park, Allison Kunath, David Flores, Norm Maxwell, and Christina Angelina are located throughtout the building. The pieces of art aid in creating moments where a person can pause from their daily routine and reflect on the themes and subject matter that the artist chose to capture. The experience constantly reminding the viewer that this environment is more than a Class ‘A’ office structure.
ART (ärt) noun
1. the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
2. the various branches of creative activity, such as painting
