KAET-TV



Phoenix, Arizona

The 223,000 s.f. project gives the Cronkite School of Journalism five times more space than its former home at ASU’s Tempe Campus, and includes extensive classrooms, lecture halls, newsrooms and multimedia facilities.

The facility also houses television studios for the local Phoenix PBS channel Eight/KAET.

The building materials primarily used are glass, metal and concrete, while the final design incorporates upper corrugated metal painted with colors such as copper, iron oxide and terra cotta - inspired by the tones of the surrounding desert and the FCC’s radio spectrum chart. Light is allowed to penetrate the facade into classrooms, meeting spaces and computer labs, but broadcasting studios and other light-sensitive areas are concealed behind the opaque surfaces.

The building’s main lobby has cafe tables and seating for informal meetings while the unfinished concrete ceilings utilize a system of wood-clad ceiling soffits that conceal HVAC ducts.

Television studios in the building contain professional camera and sound equipment, along with a green screen for weather reporting and computer graphic training.

The newsroom area was created to accommodate students in the print journalism program. Television monitors allow a showcase of news coverage from simultaneous multiple news sources

University Facilities Projects