The two buildings of the Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California, boast a design as creative as the productions filmed inside. The new 35-acre state-of-the-art development is located on the site of the former NBC Studios, and features include full-service film, TV broadcast and a new media studio, to name a few. The two buildings consist of a modest 8 and 10 floor complex at 50m in height, while the innovative facade design consists of many angled elements.
The eye-catching architecture was constructed with no straight lines, with positive and negative offsets and recessed areas to bring the building to life. With no aspects of the building being uniform, the facade access solution for this structure required the vast expertise of the team at CoxGomyl, with experienced design engineers and the project management team, to deliver a custom solution. CoxGomyl was committed to delivering a facade access system that can access the entire facade for cleaning and maintenance of the facade’s large glass panels. The two building maintenance units were developed with considerations for large drops, terraces, positive and negative angles, and recessed areas.
Two CoxGomyl 5000 Series BMUs were installed with a four-stage telescoping jib with a pantograph frame that folds down when the BMUs are parked. A complex system of rail tracks was developed for the building maintenance units to travel with two sets of turntables for the BMUs to move between tracks. There are three lines of tracks in total, with the two tracks on the north and south sides running parallel to each other. The third track moves from north to south, crossing the tracks mentioned above, with a turntable in place at each cross-section, for the BMUs to transfer between tracks. Each intersection uses four turntables that rotate 90 degrees.
The CoxGomyl 5000 Series was chosen for this intricate facade due to its ability to be perfectly tailored to meet architectural and functional requirements for unique structures. The facade access system was chosen as it met the extended reach requirement of 28m for the jib, the wide range of cradles and approaching systems, and various climbing options for moving the BMUs along uneven surfaces.
By engaging CoxGomyl from the start of the building project, our team of technical experts, engineers and project managers were able to collaborate with the Burbank team to provide a fit for purpose, practical facade access solution to maintain the unique building for decades to come.
