The Fields studies
Chicago
Merit Award
Presented by Bulley and Andrews
Owner: Knickpoint Ventures
Main design company: executioner
General contractor: Bulley and Andrews
Civil Engineer: RTM Engineering
Structural Engineer/MEP: Arup
Chicago’s first film and television production campus is located on a 23-acre site in the northeast part of the city. The 255,000 square meter mixed-use development features 125,000 square meters of sound stages, 101,000 square meters of renovated space and 29,000 square meters of new-build office space.
Before work began, crews demolished an existing warehouse on the North Campus and then moved on to the initial construction of prefabricated structures on both the North and South Campuses.
Photo by Gensler/Gillian Fry
The site was part of the former Marshall Fields property, which had railroad lines running through it in the 1930s. The old foundations and embedded rails required the expertise of geotechnical engineers to assess whether the structures should be left in place or removed.
Before work began, the project team gathered guidance from experts in studio operations, AV technology and sound engineering on the features of the new facility. BIM modeling and real-time collaboration enabled early detection of conflicts within precast and steel elements. But the extended lead times added to the complexity of the project, as some key mechanical and electrical components had lead times of more than a year. To mitigate these delays, the team contracted local builders to deliver these components within 40 weeks.
