The Grimshaw-designed Sound Stage 6 shapes up as a drawcard for international film and garden productions to make their way to the garden city’s Docklands Studios precinct.
The Government-funded project is completely up to the minute. Comprising a 17-metre-high gantry, wet-stage facilities, high acoustic performance, and optimal load bearing conditions, the building’s form seamlessly blends amongst the other buildings within the precinct. The sheer scale and colour of the structure gives it inimitable qualities, effectively making it the flagship space of the studio complex.
The challenge was to deliver a world-class, highly flexible sound stage on a very challenging site. Through ingenuity and diligence, Grimshaw satisfied all aspects of the brief and delivered a stage that will be used by Australian and international film and television, and enhance the development of Melbourne’s screen industry,” says retired Docklands Studios CEO Rod Allan.
A 900,000-litre water tank gives productions the ability to shoot a multitude of underwater scenes, with an adjoining 1,900 sqm three-storey workplace giving international-scale companies more than enough space to operate effortlessly.
The design of the adjoining workplace continues the site-wide wayfinding theme which channels Andy Warhol’s artwork of Marilyn Monroe, with splashes of orange, yellow, blue, aqua, red and pink. The theme of colour is mirrored amongst the building’s facade, which is a salient shade of pink.
The office building is expressed as large blocks articulated with deep openings to create entries and external break-out spaces. External louvres reduce solar heat gain and glare, and optimise daylight into the workplace.
Increasing Docklands Studios’ capacity by 60 percent, Sound Stage 6 is a welcome addition to an already iconic studio complex. Luring the best of the best in film and TV to shoot their programs in the heart of Melbourne, Grimshaw’s design is equally practical and noteworthy, with the pink facade capturing the attention of all onlookers in its midst.
