A new home for public media at the U of A

When the Arizona Board of Regents met April 16-17 at the University of Arizona, it marked a public debut of sorts for the host building. Planning for the recently completed Paul & Alice Baker Center for Public Media, the new home of Arizona Public Media, began in 2022 with a focus on creating a state-of-the-art broadcast and production environment.

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Located at the University of Arizona Tech Park at The Bridges, the building features high-tech television broadcast and radio production studios, podcast studios, an accessible and rentable community studio, a performance space for community events and a digital conference center and rooftop deck with skyline views. AZPM has called the building a "modern public square" that will house its radio, television and digital platforms for decades to come. 

Dana Sylvester, director of construction for University Facility Services' Design and Construction team, said the facility is customized for broadcast-quality production, with non-traditional construction features such as trapezoidal-shaped rooms with double "box-within-a-box" wall systems, ceiling systems and floating floor slabs for increased sound isolation properties. In addition to the purpose-built physical features, the building required extensive broadcast cabling and production infrastructure layered into its design.

"This is not standard construction," Sylvester said. "It's a highly specialized facility designed entirely around acoustic performance."

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Partnering with AZPM end users, the project's technology integrator, acoustics specialist, and hundreds of craft labor trade partners was critical, as sound quality had to be verified through rigorous sound tests.

The new facility replaces AZPM's previous location, the basement of the Modern Languages Building, where it had operated for more than 50 years. With three television services, four radio services and a growing digital presence, the organization had outgrown the space and needed a purpose-built, modern facility to continue its growth.

"The goal was to bring everything up to current standards with the latest technology for broadcast and production," Sylvester said. "This is a very high-level, custom building. It's almost comparable to a hospital in terms of the level of complexity and the infrastructure required."

Sylvester said the building is the result of a "very united, all-in team mindset from the beginning." She said collaboration among AZPM, University Facility Services, external partners and consultants made the project a success.

"Bringing in different perspectives was essential to gauge what was desired, necessary and possible in order to achieve the performance required," Sylvester said. "Undulating ceilings, sharp corners, odd angles, complex fire rating methods all impacted the acoustic rating – if it passed or failed."

That level of precision required constant coordination among project partners.

"We're very proud of this building," Sylvester said. "It looks great, but more importantly, it functions really well. Every little square inch of this building has meaning."