E!’s Straight-Up Approach

Fitting an expanding television network into a high-rise office building takes more than just a little careful furniture arranging--it takes an electric saw.

Just ask executives at E! Entertainment Television. The growing cable network sliced through the third floor of its Miracle Mile office building to connect its studios with the outrageously decorated lobby below.

Now producers can walk up a spiral staircase to where the style and entertainment shows are taping, talk to the production crew in the control room or check out video footage from the library without having to board one of the building’s main elevators. And celebrities who guest-host one of its shows like “Talk Soup” are spared a trip through a sea of cubicles. Instead, they are whisked up the stairs to makeup, wardrobe or a small green room.

Most entertainment companies don’t want to stack their broadcast operations in vertical space like E’s Los Angeles high-rise. There usually isn’t enough room on each floor, and the office space is divided by walls and columns--not exactly ideal for filming.

But the 5670 Wilshire Blvd. building gave the company a couple of reasons, other than a location near Beverly Hills and Hollywood, to try to make the unconventional situation work.

First, two of the building’s floors are 30,000 square feet--about twice the size of most office building floors. Second, its previous occupant, California Federal Bank, had built a large auditorium (without sight-blocking columns) on the third floor to screen its commercials and other corporate films to executives.

E! gutted this space to make two studios, and a central control room. Outside offices became editing bays and a master control area, which transmits via satellite to a large dish in Culver City and then the world beyond.

Writers, producers and heads of programming occupy traditional cubicles and small space-saving offices on several floors. But extra conference rooms have been added for show meetings and impromptu gatherings.

And the decor has been revamped to reflect its entertainment image. Gobo lights flash key words like “gossip” or “fashion” onto some of the walls. Creative offices are painted neon turquoise and purple to tie in with the bold colors and graphics of E! shows. One wall is bricked with silver and green plastic boxes that were part of a promotional campaign.

But despite the glamour, company officials acknowledge that a tall office building is hardly a perfect setting. In the last 10 months, as E! has switched over to mostly original programming, it has hired 200 people, bringing the total number of employees to 700. Company units have been spread farther apart in the building, to 11 of its 26 floors.

“We’ve had to make do using voicemail and e-mail,” said Chief Financial Officer William Keenan. “We’re trying to keep people who work together as close as possible.”

To accomplish that, the network is considering bringing back the saw and punching another stairway through a ceiling.