UrsusArctos: The sign on the building being smashed says "Studio Fantasia", which is the name of the studio that helped animate Gainax's Otaku no Video. I believe this was first spotted on the ancient Eva mailing list but the sole reference I have for that is this archived thread. According to Dr. Nick, animation studios getting smashed is a running joke in anime. Macross did the same thing with Artland and Studio Nue buildings, which is where Anno picked up the joke from. (EDIT: I really should have checked the credits- Studio Fantasia animated this episode! See the comment from Dr. Nick below)
Dr. Nick: I popped in my Platinum 02 disc to confirm this, and Studio Fantasia is credited as one of the cel painting studios of this very episode. According to the ANN encyclopedia, they did cel painting on Episodes 8, 9 and 11, so this probably counts as self-destruction. This sort of cheeky studio self-destruction also comes in other, related forms. If you're into 1990s anime, keep your eyes peeled for the always-crashing Sunrise Air Lines.
