Sony Pictures Entertainment
Telling a story of Academy Award-winning collaboration, technical innovation, and human artistry on LA’s Miracle Mile.
- Sector
- Public Realm
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA.
Project Overview
Sony Pictures Animation has relocated alongside Academy Award-winning visual effects studio, Sony Pictures Imageworks, to a shared 225,000-square-foot campus at 5750 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles' Miracle Mile. Approximately 700 artists, animators, and technologists from both units now inhabit one creative ecosystem.
Following our work at Sony Pictures Entertainment’s London office, our team was commissioned to unite these two LA-based teams, while celebrating their distinct identities. Working alongside celebrated architectural firm Rios, we integrated the magic of their productions into a building that lives and breathes their achievements, and offers constant inspiration to staff.
The Brief
The two teams wanted an environment that felt professional and prestigious, befitting Academy Award-winning work, while championing the often-invisible artistry of animators, designers, and technical artists. Sony Pictures Animation wanted their story told through iconic film assets, with dedicated areas paying homage to their storied filmography. Sony Pictures Imageworks required a multilayered approach displaying cutting-edge work while communicating the sophisticated technology behind their rendering and innovative animation pipeline.
We needed to create cohesion across two separate business units without erasing what makes each unique. Physical installations took precedent over digital screens in communal spaces, holistic wayfinding helped to weave the space together, with meaningful acknowledgment of their filmmaking prowess established throughout the building.
Our Approach
Our response centred on revealing the collaborative magic behind the movies - celebrating both process and final product. A soaring entrance portal abstracts content from iconic Sony productions into bands of color, immediately announcing the creative possibilities within. A connecting corridor links both business units, straddled by 40ft graphics across the walls, designed to visually tie the two brands together and offer a sense of organic collaboration. Multilayered moments combine props, framed pieces, and environmental graphics.
Custom gold-framed mirrors with overlaid imagery from Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills in the canteen nodded to the local area’s art deco heritage, with this style carried through into the architecture of the space. Oversized super graphics command attention in lobbies and shared spaces, and holistic wayfinding unifies the campus, rather than reinforcing separation. Working alongside Sony's archive team, film set treasures such as the Ghostbusters proton packs, and Kevin Hart’s backpack from the Jumanji series, are housed in custom wall-mounted cases, bringing a real piece of each iconic title into the lives of every visitor and employee at 5750 Wilshire Boulevard.
