HOUSTON — At Entercom Houston, our studio facility might best be described as “vintage.” Originally built in the mid-’90s as a duopoly facility for two AMs and two FMs by Westinghouse/Group W, it was expanded several times by subsequent owners, eventually growing to house six stations and 15 studios.
The studios were built on custom raised floors, which over the years had become soft in many spots. Efforts to repair the soft spots proved unsatisfactory, so eventually, we decided to scrap the floors and rebuild all the studios. A 15-studio build anywhere is a major effort, but making it happen while several live and local, high-profile stations, including two sports talk stations and the radio network for an NFL team are broadcasting from them requires careful planning and execution. Any time-saving advantage you can get is welcomed.
I’ve known David Holland and his guys at Omnirax for many years, and their solutions have helped greatly during a few challenging builds. Many years ago, while working for another company, I was tasked with building a new facility for four stations in a medium-sized market. We had a few months to plan and stage equipment, but the new studio building was handed off to us by the contractor just two weeks before a hard deadline to vacate the old facility — during the Christmas holidays. Omnirax helped us meet the deadline.
For this project, our biggest challenge was budget. We had a number we needed to stay under. Omnirax worked with us to design furniture that met our needs, fit our budget and looked great — all without sacrificing their consistent quality.
AUTOCAD
If I could pick just one word to describe working with Omnirax, that word would be easy. You send them a floorplan of your facility, then log into David’s AutoCAD machine, and work through design options with him. Not long after, he gets back to you with finalized plans, and your new furniture moves into production.
The whole process is efficient and easy.
Assembly is easy too. Everything arrives clearly marked, with photos detailing every step of construction, and a couple guys can assemble the furniture for an average studio in about an hour. Everything fits together flawlessly.
When the furniture is assembled, you don’t have to worry about cutting holes for consoles, or wire runs through the countertops — it’s already done for you — all planned out during your AutoCAD session.
Over the last 25 years, I’ve been involved with a lot of studio renovations — sometimes with new furniture, but sometimes not. Many times, when rebuilds didn’t involve new furniture, I’ve been left scratching my head when contemplating the furniture designer’s decisions. When assembling studios around Omnirax furniture, I often find myself marveling at just how thoughtful and functional their designs are.
Given the opportunity, I always choose Omnirax.
For information, contact Philip Zittell or David Holland at Omnirax in California at 1-415-332-3392 or visit www.omnirax.com.
