Summary

MGA Entertainment’s new headquarters in Chatsworth, California, is the centerpiece of an amenity-rich, mixed-use campus for residential and retail. The complex was first envisioned several years ago when MGA acquired a three-building 24-acre site, once a printing facility for the Los Angeles Times. A family-owned business founded in 1979, MGA has occupied multiple buildings during its growth.

The design of the new headquarters’ reinvents the three buildings that once housed the Times’ printing operation, uniting them as one despite challenges that included different levels and ceiling heights varying from 10 feet to 35 feet and some double-height ceilings. A dearth of windows was an additional dilemma, solved by enormous skylights that bring natural light into once cavernous spaces and by custom lighting designed by the IA team. A combination of features creatively handle level and height differences for convenience, variety, and volume.

As an homage to the site’s past, a system of rails at the ceiling for moving paper during the print process is retained wherever possible, as well as a selection of rail tracks on the floor now filled in but still visible. Wellness rooms, a gym, a café, and multiple breakout areas are all part of the mix defining MGA as an entertainment company with a user experience focused headquarters designed to take it far into the future.