A New Home for Arizona Public Media
Paul and Alice Baker Center for Public Media | Tucson, Arizona
This new 61,500-sq.-ft. facility for Arizona Public Media at the University of Arizona Tech Park at The Bridges is a state-of-the-art building with advanced acoustics, technology and sustainable features. It meets current and future technical and broadcast requirements, replacing much of AZPM’s aging radio and TV production infrastructure and enabling the creation of more local, original content.
Partners
About the Project
This award-winning design-build project allows Arizona Public Media (AZPM) to better serve 11 Arizona counties with three public television program services, four public radio services, and a variety of online services at azpm.org. In addition to delivering programs from PBS, NPR and the BBC, among others, AZPM produces acclaimed original newscasts, public affairs programs, documentaries and community engagement events for and about the people of Southern Arizona. Beyond being a broadcast and media production facility, the project will serve as a hub for public debates, presentations, live performances, tours and community events.
Project Innovations
Making Design Intent a Built Reality
By design, no two rooms are alike; trapezoidal forms replace right angles to preserve sound quality, making for more a much more technical and nuanced installation. DPR’s self-perform drywall team was given 85+ custom corner details for various recording and editing rooms. The team worked to streamline and color-code these into simplified, user-friendly sheets for installing crews to use in the field.
Solving Problems as a Team
DPR and SmithGroup|Swaim developed a very high-trust and high-performing environment early on to solve problems collaboratively. This included resolving a standoff easement issue with TEP power lines and the edge of the three-story building’s roof. Using laser scans from our VDC team, DPR verified 20 feet exactly, but the initial measurement was from center of pole and not the arm extending the power line. This issue was caught in time before steel packages were released and re-sequenced in time to not lose any schedule.
Engineered for Complete Noise Isolation
With more than 85 custom corner details, each recording and editing room was built as a true box-within-a-box. To achieve complete noise isolation, rooms sat on isolated slabs with sound-dampening insulation between structural layers. The team completed 27 separate concrete pours to meet these requirements. Doors were double-sided, noise-canceling assemblies, enhanced with perimeter soundproofing, high-density materials for added mass, and tight frame tolerances to prevent sound transfer.
Project
Innovations
Making Design Intent a Built Reality
By design, no two rooms are alike; trapezoidal forms replace right angles to preserve sound quality, making for more a much more technical and nuanced installation. DPR’s self-perform drywall team was given 85+ custom corner details for various recording and editing rooms. The team worked to streamline and color-code these into simplified, user-friendly sheets for installing crews to use in the field.
Solving Problems as a Team
DPR and SmithGroup|Swaim developed a very high-trust and high-performing environment early on to solve problems collaboratively. This included resolving a standoff easement issue with TEP power lines and the edge of the three-story building’s roof. Using laser scans from our VDC team, DPR verified 20 feet exactly, but the initial measurement was from center of pole and not the arm extending the power line. This issue was caught in time before steel packages were released and re-sequenced in time to not lose any schedule.
Engineered for Complete Noise Isolation
With more than 85 custom corner details, each recording and editing room was built as a true box-within-a-box. To achieve complete noise isolation, rooms sat on isolated slabs with sound-dampening insulation between structural layers. The team completed 27 separate concrete pours to meet these requirements. Doors were double-sided, noise-canceling assemblies, enhanced with perimeter soundproofing, high-density materials for added mass, and tight frame tolerances to prevent sound transfer.
“Russ Berger Design Group has been involved with more than 100 public media facilities across the country, and I can’t think of another one that was as well organized from a construction perspective as this one. DPR really came through—not only trying to do the right job but knowing it takes a lot of upfront planning and thinking about the construction process to make it happen as smoothly as possible.”
Richard Schrag, Design Principal
Russ Berger Design Group
“When you stand in the space and look up at that two-story ceiling in the lobby and see light streaming through enormous windows, it’s jaw-dropping.”
Mary Paul
Arizona Public Media
Recognized Among the Best
2025 Cornerstone Award - Best Project Team
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