Scott Brownrigg has seen its design of a production studio campus in Reading for US-based Shadowbox Studios complete, making the project the largest new build TV and film studio to be built in the UK.
In Reading, Berkshire, Scott Brownrigg’s design for Shinfield Studios is complete, with the new £250 million suite of film and TV studios totalling one million square feet and being built for US-based independent platform, Shadowbox Studios.
The new facility is the largest TV and film studio campus to be built in the UK and offers 18 sound stages, 38 workshops, a nine-acre filming backlot and more than 130,000 square feet of office space.
These take the form of 24 volumes clad mostly in black sheet metal with a shallow pitch, and large yellow lettering and numbering denoting what building is what in emphatic fashion.
Site layout.
A steel twin wall system was adopted for the design of some of the sound stages in order for construction to proceed quickly and minimise the disturbances of productions already under way, with the system also contributing to the buildings’ optimal acoustic performance,
The project broke ground in 2021 and was delivered in phases, with the first, which included 80,000 square feet of studio space, being fully used within six months. (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has already been produced at the studios and came out in March 2024).
As well as being an efficient means of building, the twin wall structure is also a sustainable one too, helping the project achieve a BREEAM excellent rating.
Sound Studio 5 ground floor plan.
Sound Studio 5 typical section.
The sound stages in question range from 13,000 square feet to 43,000, with each able to be fully climate controlled with their layout designed to be as flexible as possible to cater for a diverse array of uses.
The workshops, meanwhile, cater for a range of production requirements including costume and wardrobe use as well as storing action vehicles and armoury.
At the centre of the campus is a café and canteen which serves studio staff and lets them enjoy views out onto the countryside found just beyond the campus premises.
“We are delighted to see this incredible project come to life over the last three years. Our design approach and methodology challenged how studios are designed and built, changing the narrative to help create a more sustainable sector and enabling blockbuster productions to film while construction continued onsite,” said Jason Lebidineuse, director at Scott Brownrigg and head of digital, culture, media + sport at the practice.
Rob Gordon, integrated delivery director at Curo Construction added: “Shinfield Studios represents a significant milestone in the UK’s film and television infrastructure. Through our embrace of sustainable design and construction methods, we’ve created state-of-the-art facilities perfectly suited to the needs of modern film production. Each soundstage was purpose-built and handed over in phases, ensuring minimal disruption and maximum efficiency for Shinfield Studios.”
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