Montclair State partnered with the Sony Corporation to create what the New Jersey-based institution touts as the most technologically advanced broadcast and media production facility at a university.
The new School of Communication and Media has broadcast-ready newsrooms, multimedia labs, production facilities, screening rooms and theaters filled with Sony equipment, including cameras and projectors.
CHALLENGE: Launched in 2012, the School of Communication and Media united Montclair’s communication studies, broadcasting, journalism, public relations, sports media and filmmaking programs. These departments had been spread out across the 500 acre-campus.
“The underlying goal was to bring programs that logically fit together into one place so students could benefit from unity and synchronicity,” says Keith Strudler, director of the School of Communication and Media.
SOLUTION: The 105,000-square-foot facility now physically links two pre-existing halls that house Montclair’s College of the Arts and its dance program.
The school features four 1,600- to 2,000-square-foot 4K broadcast production studios and control rooms, the first of their kind to be located on a university campus, according to Sony Electronics.
A 40-seat screening room and 187-seat presentation hall are powered by Sony Digital Cinema Projection and Dolby 7.1 surround sound. Businesses can rent studio and production space at the school—and hire students for projects.
“This building has really become a place where our programs can thrive,” Strudler says.
COMPLETED: September 2017
COST: $55.8 million
PROJECT TEAM: Architect: CannonDesign (New York City); construction manager: Epic Builds (New York City)
