The Public Media Commons is a collaboration of Nine PBS, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and St. Louis Public Radio. The Public Media Commons is managed by Nine PBS and is privately funded by local contributors.

The Public Media Commons is a 9,000-square-foot space flanked by large-screen video walls on two sides. The space encourages sharing and creating audio/visual experiences in a dynamic cityscape conducive to collaboration and experimentation.

The scale of the walls, the vivid quality of the imagery and sound, the surrounding urban architecture, and even a landscaped knoll for quiet contemplation provides an environment like no other — an urban environment that becomes a playground for the mind and the senses.

This unique open-air media environment in the Grand Center Arts District of St. Louis is intended to bring people together for experiences that stimulate creative thinking and serve the community as an incubator of arts and ideas.

Bordered by Nine PBS, St. Louis Public Radio, and the Sheldon Concert Hall in the heart of the Grand Center Arts District, the Public Media Commons is in close proximity to the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, the Kranzberg Arts Center, the St. Louis Symphony, and numerous other arts venues.

The public will be able to visit the Public Media Commons from morning to night for experiences ranging from large-screen video productions to performances, events, and film screenings.

Funders

Funding for the Public Media Commons has been generously provided by the Emerson Charitable Trust, The Boeing Company, Nancy and Ken Kranzberg, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Edward Jones, Interco Charitable Trust, the Richard A. Baker Foundation, the Steward Family Foundation, the WWT Foundation, and the Trio Foundation of St. Louis.

Designers

The Public Media Commons was designed by a team from Powers Bowersox Associates Inc. led by Ben Gilmartin, AIA, who previously was a lead designer on the Lincoln Center Promenade. Other elements of the Public Media Commons were designed by Andrew Colopy from Cobalt Office; Electrosonic, Inc.; Dlandstudio, LLC; Randy Burkett Lighting Design, Inc.; and HDR, Inc. Electrosonic provided audio/visual design and implementation on the Newseum in Washington, D.C., and Millennium Park in Chicago.

Awards

St. Louis Magazine A-List 2015
Culture & Amusements: Concert
Alarm Will Sound’s October 2014 performance of Ten Thousand Birds in the Public Media Commons

St. Louis Magazine A-List 2015
Culture & Amusements: Public Space
Public Media Commons

Alive magazine’s We Heart STL Best of the City Awards, June 2015
Best New Arts Destination

 

66 Reasons to Love St. Louis – A Phillips 66 campaign showcase the top 66 reasons to love St. Louis

Landscape Architecture Design award, a national award

2015 Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects St. Louis Chapter

2015 Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects

Cover feature of November 2015 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine with a 10 page feature and a pull-out quote by Jack Galmiche prominently featured on the contents page.

2016 Outstanding Local Government Achievement Award for Leadership in Planning and Design Innovation