USC Plans Blavatnik Center for Virtual Production at 3131 S. Figueroa Street
New City planning documents show the proposed USC School of Cinematic Arts center, backed by a $25 million Blavatnik Family Foundation gift, taking shape beside the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts.
New planning documents filed with the City of Los Angeles show the proposed Blavatnik Center for Virtual Production on USC's University Park campus, a new production and education facility planned for 3131 S. Figueroa St.
The project is supported by a $25 million lead gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation. USC has said the center is targeted to open in fall 2027, expanding the university's work in virtual production, performance capture, real-time 3D design and digital-media education.
A new production building beside the Zemeckis Center
The project plans show a two-story building along W. 32nd Street, next to USC's existing Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts and near the university's existing fire station. The street-facing rendering presents a wide, contemporary campus building marked BLAVATNIK CENTER FOR VIRTUAL PRODUCTION, with a public-facing entry, landscaped edges and large areas of glazing.
The planning packet identifies Bastien and Associates, Inc. as the architect and MIG as the landscape consultant. The City filing includes the broader parcel reference 625-647 W. 32nd St., while the editorial address for the proposed center is 3131 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90007.
Virtual production as classroom and working studio
USC's public project materials describe approximately 15,000 square feet of space organized around two wraparound LED-wall stages, performance-capture capabilities, camera tracking and professional lighting systems. Classrooms and labs are planned for real-time 3D software, digital asset libraries and related production instruction.
The center is intended to serve USC students, faculty and alumni as well as industry professionals. USC says its existing virtual-production program has already trained more than 400 students and alumni in LED-volume cinematography. The City documents reviewed by CurationsLA show the proposal moving through a planning process that includes a General Plan Amendment, a Zone and Height District Change and removal of a historic 20-foot building line.
This is an early look at the City-filed plans, not a construction announcement. The rendering makes the campus ambition legible: USC is treating virtual production as both a filmmaking tool and a permanent academic space, with the new center positioned directly beside the Zemeckis Center's existing digital-arts footprint.