Sustainability Report 2025
Sustainable Project Highlights
Today, the Egyptian Theatre evokes a grand, old-Hollywood experience, but behind the scenes, its systems are ultramodern.
As time went on the once heralded historic landmark fell into disrepair and failed to modernize with competing theatres along Hollywood Boulevard.
Netflix purchased the building in 2020 and retained Syska Hennessy to be the engineer of record (EOR). Syska’s expertise in existing historic buildings, along with our innovative design strategies, made us a natural choice for the project. Our scope included mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems, and sustainability consulting and energy modeling.
Goals
The goals of the project were to restore the 1,000-seat, 18,000-square-foot theater to its original grandeur while optimizing occupant comfort and energy efficiency and successfully electrifying all building systems without requiring a utility service upgrade.
Challenges and Solutions
Ductwork for an overhead system was installed in the early 90s, but it obscured the beautiful 1920s-era ceiling and proved to be an inefficient air delivery method for such a large space. In the quest to reduce energy and support Netflix and Studio 440’s vision to restore the building to its former grand aesthetic, Syska replaced the overhead distribution with the existing underfloor systems included in the 1920s buildout. This system utilizes cooling and heating equipment to achieve proper comfort for theatre occupants while lowering overall energy usage significantly through the convective nature of heat, the natural stratification of tall spaces, and prioritizing comfort in occupied zones. Additional event and pyrotechnic fans were provided to further enhance flexibility and achieve better indoor air quality for all event types. This strategy aimed to reduce both operational carbon (energy) and embodied carbon (new ductwork).
New air handlers utilizing energy recovery and variable speed compressors were installed. The existing gas heating was electrified via air-to-water heat pumps providing heating hot water for the main theatre. Electrified heating was a major component of the decarbonization strategy for the building.
Design for the project took place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that indoor air quality for occupants and visitors was of the utmost importance. Accordingly, Syska designed multi-stage filtration methods including ultraviolet light to effectively destroy bacteria, viruses, and mold for improved occupant wellness.
Syska rehabilitated old pathways for underfloor air distribution, disconnected all natural-gas systems, and electrified the entire building without upgrading or replacing the existing electrical service (per owner request). Instead, the team overhauled the electrical distribution system to supply normal power, emergency power, and theatrical lighting control.
Awards and Incentives
Syska’s efforts also enabled Netflix to qualify for energy rebates from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) through its Zero by Design Program. The program provides financial incentives for commercial buildings that exceed industry-standard design. Incentives are scaled per unit of energy saved and heavily favor all-electric operations, making the Egyptian Theatre the perfect candidate.
Results
The Los Angeles Conservancy honored the project with its 2024 Chair Award for preservation, demonstrating that even a 100-year-old landmarked building can serve as a champion for a decarbonized future and help to usher in a new era of thoughtful revitalization in Los Angeles.
Today, the Egyptian Theatre evokes a grand, old-Hollywood experience, but behind the scenes, its systems are ultramodern. Syska’s use of innovative engineering techniques yielded high standards of comfort and energy efficiency and represent a new era in systems design. Netflix and Studio 440 are highly satisfied with the final design, and we appreciate the opportunity to have played a starring role in the Egyptian Theatre’s successful rejuvenation.
The goals of the project were to restore the 1,000-seat, 18,000-square-foot theater to its original grandeur
San Antonio International Airport:
How 'Decarb in 4D' became the key factor to a successful CUP expansion
Through this project, San Antonio International Airport is not only expanding its capacity, it is also future‑proofing its energy infrastructure for a net‑zero world.
As part of San Antonio International Airport’s commitment to sustainable growth, Syska Hennessy Group engineered an expansion of the central utility plant (CUP) to support the new 18‑gate Terminal C. The project embodies the airport’s pursuit of resilient, low‑carbon infrastructure -- integrating advanced technologies that reduce environmental impact while strengthening operational flexibility.
At its heart, the CUP expansion exemplifies Syska’s “Decarb in 4D” approach (reducing operational carbon emissions by creating a dynamic thermal energy network that integrates heat recovery systems with thermal energy storage to link non-coincident heating and cooling demands across the fourth dimension: time). The project team maximized existing space, optimized system interactions, and leveraged time-based flexibility to eliminate the need for new fossil‑fuel systems -- all within a constrained site footprint.
Designing for Resilience and Spatial Efficiency
The existing CUP originally was outfitted with three 1,400-ton water-cooled chillers and reserved space for one additional unit. It was hemmed in on all sides by active airport infrastructure, leaving no room for traditional expansion. Meanwhile, the growing cooling demands of both the current airport and the new Terminal C exceeded the capacity of a single added chiller. Rather than pursuing a conventional approach, Syska reimagined the CUP’s configuration to deliver a forward-thinking, cost-effective electrification strategy -- maximizing performance within the plant’s existing footprint.
The new design calls for three compact heat recovery chillers (HRCs) to replace the single planned chiller, enabling simultaneous heating and cooling production within the same physical footprint. In addition, a partially buried chilled‑water thermal energy storage (TES) tank was included in the CUP’s thermal network, adding system capacity without physical expansion. Together, these systems enhance reliability, mitigate peak electrical demand, and enable low‑carbon operation even during extreme temperature events, all while resolving the spatial limitations of the existing CUP structure.
Leveraging the Dimension of Time
The expanded CUP capacity will serve Terminal C via a new dedicated low‑temperature hot‑water loop that utilizes heat recovered from the HRCs. The heating distribution system for the terminal will follow a primary-secondary pumping configuration, with the two loops hydraulically separated via the chilled water TES tank. This setup allows the heat generation from the HRCs to operate independently from the terminal’s variable heating load. By divorcing generation from demand through the TES tank, the system leverages time as a controllable design variable -- providing critical flexibility during periods of low heating load that would otherwise fall below the operational limits of the HRCs.
This decoupling of demand and generation is central to Syska’s Decarb in 4D approach -- allowing the CUP to optimize when and how energy is produced and distributed by utilizing the TES as a time-buffer, reducing peak demand and improving part‑load efficiency. By storing chilled water in the TES tank and recovering heat from chiller operation, the CUP can meet morning heating loads (even when cooling demand is low) without relying on fossil fuels. This temporal flexibility stabilizes electrical loads, electrifies the new heating demand, improves overall system efficiency, and advances the airport’s decarbonization goals.
Results and Broader Impact
By applying the principles of Syska’s Decarb in 4D approach, the project achieves tangible outcomes across performance, resilience, and cost:
- Electrification of heating: Meets the new terminal’s space heating needs without onsite combustion.
- Peak‑load management: Lowers CUP peak demand and grid stress.
- Operational resilience: Enhances flexibility during extreme weather events.
- Space optimization: Adds capacity within a fixed plant footprint.
- Cost-effectiveness: Achieves decarbonization goals while maintaining alignment with project budget parameters.
- Scalability: Establishes a replicable model for airport and campus utility decarbonization.
Through this project, San Antonio International Airport is not only expanding its capacity, it is also future‑proofing its energy infrastructure for a net‑zero world. Syska’s integrated design demonstrates how engineering innovation, when guided by carbon intelligence, can transform spatial constraints into sustainable opportunities.