Manhattan Beach Studios marks the development and construction of the largest sound stage and movie studio campus facility in more than 50 years. The stages have been used over the last 14 years for television and movie production. The project consisted of two phases. Phase I consists of 11 sound stages (8 – 18,000 s.f. stages and three 25,000 s.f. stages) and six production office buildings along with the mill and grip shops. Phase II consisted of three sound stages, a parking structure, two production office buildings, a commissary and a standalone 4-story, 52,000 s.f. office building with below grade parking.
The sound stages were constructed for flexibility allowing both silent stages along with live audience TV show capabilities. The project is situated on 22-acres with a total of 545,500 s.f. of sound stages and office space. Stages provide both 35’ and 45’ clear to bottom of the lighting grid and include clear span bow-string wood trusses with clear span of 120’, allowing for large set construction. “Elephant doors” between stages allow for set construction through multiple stages allowing for street scene and linear sets. Stages are equipped with a full catwalk and tie-off system, as well as large capacity HVAC systems that allow for large volume, low velocity “silent” air distribution.
