TVC Echelon Romaine

An adaptive reuse project converting six structures on a former Technicolor site, five of them Historic-Cultural Monuments, into shell-and-core office and production space, without losing what made the site historically significant.

LocationLos Angeles, California
Architect of RecordHouse & Robertson Architects
Design ArchitectsRIOS
PhaseDesign Development & Construction Documentation
Ownership & contribution, stated plainly
Design concept RIOS (Design Architects) authored the architectural vision and design intent for the adaptive reuse.
Employer / AOR House & Robertson Architects held the Architect of Record role, translating that design into buildable documentation.
My contribution Within that team, I coordinated civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing disciplines against the architectural model; aligned the design and landscape teams with technical requirements; facilitated client requirement discussions in coordination meetings; and produced BIM (Revit) documentation throughout Design Development and Construction Documentation.
Context

A site that shaped Hollywood's Golden Age

The historic core of this site reflects Technicolor's peak influence and dominance from the 1920s through the 1940s. The design intervention preserves the historical significance of five Historic-Cultural Monument structures while converting them, along with one non-contributing sound stage, to a shell-and-core scope. One structure gains an entirely new deck, landscaped areas, and a film shoot street.

Isometric diagram of the site with demolition-phase areas highlighted in red across the six structures
Demolition phase of the site
Massing

Six buildings, one adaptive reuse strategy

Each existing structure was reprogrammed rather than replaced: offices across Buildings 3, 4, 7, and 4E, a new core and deck added to Building 4, the existing sound stage retained at Building 15, a transformer yard integrated into Building 12, and a film shooting street threaded between the buildings rather than around them.

Isometric render of the TVC Romaine adaptive reuse buildings at new construction phase
3D view of the TVC Romaine adaptive reuse buildings at new construction phase
Facade

Keeping the street-facing read intact

Design intervention on Building 7's south facade maintained the urban fabric facing the street, preserving the aesthetic and elements like the pilasters, window rhythm, and building entrances that read as historic from the sidewalk, even as the systems behind that facade were fully modernized.

Photorealistic render of Building 7's south facade showing the preserved pilasters, window rhythm, and entrance along the street
Building 7 south facade
Adaptive Reuse

Now, and where it's headed

Site visits informed how the existing industrial character, exposed unreinforced masonry, original lighting, and MEP systems could stay visible rather than be concealed, while the space itself opens toward a more flexible, open-plan future built around work and shared use.

Panoramic site visit photo of Building 7 Level 2 showing exposed brick, original lighting, and open-plan future use
Site visit and space visualization, Building 7 Level 2