The space needed to project KUTV's "Fresh Air" image, while complementing the architectural
heritage of Main Street and downtown Salt Lake City. Just as importantly, the project
needed to be completed within a tight deadline and stringent budget.
"We don't look like everybody else and we don't do things like everybody else,"
says Dave Phillips, Vice-President and General Manager of KUTV CBS 2 News. "Our
ideas are different right down to how we present ourselves." Sometimes they're initiated
by an offbeat request, which is why the story of KUTV's beautiful new panoramic-view
studio in downtown Salt Lake begins with Phillips asking to see "the ugly space."
"The owners of the Wells Fargo Center took me down to the basement and I saw
the 22-foot ceilings and the loading dock, where you can get four or five big semis,
and I realized I wouldn't have to put part of my operation on the first floor and
the rest on the 13th or 17th or 23rd floor — I could use the basement and
expand the mezzanine. And by the time we walked out, I was thinking, 'This could
work.' "
The Kimball Office Solution
Phillips and his architects, Lyle Beecher and Jory Walker of Beecher Walker and
Associates found a big part of what they needed to make KUTV's new home possible
in the 21st century performance and natural style of the Xsite system from Kimball
Office.
Phillips liked the way Xsite's width-adjustable structure fit between the pillars
that cropped up every 25 to 30 feet. He also liked how easily Xsite handled the
station's power and data requirements. Beecher resonated with the way Xsite complemented
the neighborhood's brick and cobblestone architecture. "From a philosophical
point of view, we wanted old Main Street to come into the studio and interact with
the technology of a highly sophisticated television station. Xsite, with its wood,
steel and glass aesthetic, played an integral role in bringing everything together."
And Phillips and Beecher both appreciated being able to install Xsite's frame and
wire management amid all the construction mess, ensuring on-time completion of the
project.
A year to the day later, KUTV is broadcasting six times daily from its new studio
which features a state-of-the-art newsroom, Kimball Office By Design custom anchor
desks and a 180-degree view of downtown Salt Lake City.
The new facility builds on the station's "Fresh Air" image of personalized newscasts
that reach out to viewers. "It's an environment that acts and reacts the way
our newscasts have over the last few years," Phillips says. "It lets the
people of Salt Lake be a part of our newscast and allows us to be a part of their
lives every day."
"We didn't want the typical 'cloth panel with painted metal trim' office furniture.
We wanted something warm and natural that would complement Main Street's rich architectural
heritage and KUTV's 'fresh air' image. Xsite and the custom work from Kimball Office
slid right into place for the image we were after."
Lyle Beecher,
Principal in Charge, Beecher Walker and Associates
Product Specifications:
Xsite® systems; TRAXX®; Evoke® casegoods;
Contemporary and AspireTM tables; BloxxTM and FundamentalTM
filing; Skye®;, XtremeTM, and BingoTM seating;
By Design custom anchor desk, national news desk, weather station desk, and reception
stations.
Project Team
Dave W. Phillips, Vice-President/General Manager, KUTV CBS 2 News; Lyle L. Beecher,
AIA, CEO, Beecher Walker and Associates; Jory Walker, AIA, President, Beecher Walker
and Associates; Steve Bowers, Vice-President, Layton Interiors Construction Specialists;
Michael A. Nelson, Executive Sales and Design, Contract Furniture Gallery.
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