2121 Avenue of the Stars explained

2121 Avenue of the Stars
Location:2121 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, California
Alternate Names:20th Century Studios Plaza
Architectural Style:Postmodern
Completion Date:1987
Building Type:Commercial offices
Roof:150m (490feet)
Floor Count:34
Floor Area:90115m2
Architect:Scott Johnson
Structural Engineer:John A. Martin & Associates
Main Contractor:Al Cohen Construction
Owner:Irvine Company LLC
References:[1]

2121 Avenue of the Stars, formerly known as Fox Plaza, is a 34-story, 493feet skyscraper in Century City, Los Angeles, California.[2] It is owned by the Orange County–based Irvine Company.[3]

History

Completed in 1987,[4] the building's principal design architect was Scott Johnson, Founding Design Partner of Johnson Fain.

Former President Ronald Reagan had his offices on the 34th floor of the building for several years after leaving public office.[5] As of 2019, the 34th floor was occupied by 20th Century Studios.[6]

In 2024, Chicago-based law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP moved into two floors on the property.

Design

The outer exterior of the building contains rust-red granite and glass panels.

Fox Plaza features a unique HVAC system where a large vertical air shaft is located in the core of the building. The air shaft begins below the building as an outdoor, cooler air intake pushing air to each floor's fan room, and on the roof is located an exhaust for stale air. Such system design utilizes stack effect.[7] [8]

Filming location

In a 2018 tour for Variety, the chief engineer of the building noted how the Fox Plaza has a large number of redundancies in its design, and he speculates that it's because it was intended to be used as a filming location.[9]

The building has been featured in at least four major motion pictures released by Fox. Its most famous appearance was in the 1988 action film Die Hard, where it portrayed the fictional Nakatomi Plaza (also known as Nakatomi Tower), a building owned by a fictional Japanese conglomerate. The damaged version of the tower was made via a scale model special effect. In 2018, to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary, a screening was held outside with the building in the background.[10]

The plaza and a neighboring building are the main setting for the 1994 comedy Airheads where fictional radio station KPPX is located.[11] [12] Fox Plaza was also one of the buildings brought down at the end of Fight Club.[13] The building plays an important role in the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode "99", in which detective Jake Peralta insists on visiting the building due to its role in Die Hard and causes his squad to miss their return flight to New York City.[14]

The building can also be seen from the InterContinental hotel pool across the street in the "Sunblock 5000" TV ad in Robocop 2 (1990).

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Emporis building ID 116576 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160214140937/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/116576 . dead . February 14, 2016 . Emporis.
  2. Web site: Fox Plaza - Office Building for Rent - Los Angeles, CA . Irvine Company . en-US . 2018-07-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180730110814/https://www.irvinecompanyoffice.com/locations/los-angeles/west-los-angeles/fox-plaza.html . 2018-07-30 . live.
  3. Irvine Company's Fox Plaza Captures Prestigious Regional Industry Award . Irvine Company . 2018-07-30 . en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20180730110748/https://www.irvinecompany.com/press-release/irvine-companys-fox-plaza-captures-prestigious-regional-industry-award/ . 2018-07-30 . dead.
  4. News: Fox Plaza Adds Color to Westside's Skyline . Evelyn . De Wolfe . 1987-02-01. Los Angeles Times. 2023-06-02. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627023545/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-01-re-144-story.html. 2022-06-27. live.
  5. Web site: Inside Ronald Reagan's 'Die Hard' Office in Century City. Andy . Lewis . 26 September 2013. The Hollywood Reporter. 15 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222152928/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/inside-ronald-reagans-die-hard-635440. 22 December 2015. live. dmy-all.
  6. Web site: Fox Plaza . Los Angeles Conservancy . 2019-03-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20160729054802/https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/fox-plaza. 2016-07-29. live.
  7. Web site: Large-Building HVAC Systems. 2021-01-16. Industrial-Electronics.com. An unusual example of vertical air distribution at the core is shown in Fig. 10. The Fox Plaza, Los Angeles, office building's unique features include both fan rooms on each floor and a large central vertical air shaft. This air shaft begins at the bottom as a fresh air intake to each floor and tapers to become, at the top, an exhaust (heated) air outlet from each floor. Thus, the stack effect is utilized to help supply fresh and exhaust stale air from a large building, with help from small supply fans at each floor..
  8. Book: Grondzik. Walter T.. Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings. Kwok. Alison G.. Wiley. 2014. 978-1118615904. 12th. 507–509.
  9. News: 'Die Hard' Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Outdoor 'Nakatomi Tower' Screening. Tapley. Kristopher. 2018-07-29. Variety. 2018-07-30. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20180729233741/https://variety.com/2018/film/news/die-hard-30th-anniversary-nakatomi-tower-screening-1202889427/. 2018-07-29. live.
  10. Web site: Tapley . Kristopher . 'Die Hard' Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Outdoor 'Nakatomi Tower' Screening . Variety . 29 July 2018 . 15 June 2023.
  11. Web site: Airheads (1994) - IMDb. 2021-04-08.
  12. Web site: Airheads. 2021-04-08. en.
  13. Web site: The 'Where Is My Mind' Ending Scene in Fight Club (1999) . 2021-01-03 . YouTube.
  14. Web site: Ferguson . LaToya . In Brooklyn Nine-Nine's "99," teamwork makes the dream work . The A.V. Club . 6 December 2017 . 8 August 2020.

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