Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay (NHDKM)

Project:
Fox Sports (formerly SportsChannel)
350 N. Orleans, Apparel Center
Chicago, Illinois
SportsChannel, a cable television station, produces sports programming for broadcast 24 hours a day. In the Chicago area, they provide coverage of the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks.

Our work began with a feasibility study, which evaluated their current facility and helped develop a program and associated budget. We then provided architectural services for renovation of SportsChannel's newly acquired 35,000 sqaure feet of space in the Apparel Center, part of The Merchandise Mart Complex. The new space includes two studios, 40 square feet each with their own master control and audio rooms. Video control is central and there are two announce rooms, one online edit suite, two off-line edit suites, a graphics suite and various support spaces.

There were many challenges: the most obvious was determining a way to build quality production studios in a multi-tenant building. The acoustical, electrical and HVAC requirements of these facilities are enormous, so finding an economical solution of retrofitting these systems into an existing, occupied building became a real challenge.

Additionally, the structure is steel framed with overhead beams approximately 17 feet above the floor - 17 feet is also the optimal height for the lighting grid. NHDKM worked closely with our team's engineers to design a ventilation system, which allows the lighting grid to be placed at its optimal height. NHDKM also designed walls which provide acoustical performance of NC=25. Taking an innovative and creative approach to these challenges ultimately led to a facility that is functional, yet economical.

Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay, Architects/Planners, Ltd.
NHDKM provides a broad ranges of services related to architecture, interior design and land planning. Founded in 1966, the firm's award-winning design has included new and revitalized structures of virtually every building type:

- Institutional projects with an emphasis on cultural and educational facilities, including museums, libraries and schools
- Commercial: corporate, medical, retail and hospitality projects in a multitude of scales and contexts
- Housing on every scale, including single and multiple family housing; low rise, mid rise and high rise housing; housing for the student and the elderly; and barrier free housing
- Municipal projects that reflect the needs of user groups
- Broadcasting and TV media facilities
- Renovations, including historical projects, that retain the integrity of original building or site
- Facility programming and master planning
- Urban planning and office campus planning

Philosophy
The work of the firm is focused on a commitment to several important ideas
- The best buildings grow out of a serious response to the user's program
- The best decorative details are derived from construction technology
- Traditional materials and methods are often both the most economical and the most appropriate to the programmatic and physical context of the project, especially when carefully integrated with contemporary technologies
- A recognition of the individual and specific nature of site, locale, budget and program leads to the most appropriate and satisfactory architecture

Staff
Principals:
James L. Nagle, FAIA
John F. Hartray, FAIA
Dirk W. Danker, AIA
Howard A. Kagan, AIA
Donald J. McKay, AIA
Size and Composition:
Registered Architects: 15
Designers/Architectural Interns: 15
Administrative Staff: 4
Total: 34

Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay, Architects/Planners, Ltd.
One IBM Plaza, Suite 2301
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Phone: 312/832-6900
Fax: 312/832-0004
Email: nhdkm@nhdkm.com