The BBC On Springs?

By Rob Last edited 222 months ago
The BBC On Springs?
broadcastinghouse.jpg

Today's Media Guardian carries a nicely detailed article on the redevelopment of Broadcasting House.

As with most architectural projects in the capital the BBC's plans have been beset with problems right from the start, with the latest stories in May claiming that the whole thing was 11 months behind schedule and £7m over budget.

However, chief operating officer John Smith is now promising that the project will come in under budget by about £8m when it is completed in 2009 or 2010 and they've already got over some of the bigger hurdles, including tube tunnels, sewers and those pesky heritage requirements.

The article tells us that to get around the problem of Tube noise the whole east wing is now "held up by giant springs that dampen the noise".

Cool.

Other juicy bits include the fact that the underground tunnel linking Radio 1 to BHH, used in the past to "smuggle DGs in times of crisis" has now gone, as has the infamous Room 101, "supposedly the inspiration for the eponymous location in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four". But, thankfully, the BH concert hall's giant organ ("so loud it can only be played at night when the building is deserted") has been granted a reprieve.

As for the new stuff, the most exciting element has got to be the 'glass cone' which will sit on the east wing's roof:

The sculpture, called Breathing, has been designed to commemorate those who have lost their lives working for the BBC: at 10pm every night, at the start of the main news bulletin, it will shoot a beam of light 1km into the sky.

Again: cool.

Last Updated 26 September 2005