BBC Wales headquarters building
The BBC Wales Headquarters building (Welsh: Pencadlys BBC Cymru) is a television studio and office in Central Square, Cardiff.[7] It is operated by BBC Cymru Wales, and also serves as a base for S4C.[8]
BBC Wales Headquarters | |
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Pencadlys BBC Cymru | |
![]() July 2019 | |
![]() ![]() BBC Wales BBC Wales headquarters building location | |
Alternative names | New Broadcasting House |
General information | |
Status | Open |
Type | Broadcasting office |
Architectural style | High-tech architecture |
Location | Cardiff city centre |
Address | 3 Central Square, Cardiff CF10 1FP |
Town or city | Cardiff |
Country | Wales |
Coordinates | 51.476268°N 3.179891°W |
Current tenants | BBC Cymru Wales S4C Mixed retail |
Construction started | 7 December 2015 [1] |
Completed | 1 August 2019 |
Opened | October 2019[2] |
Cost | £100,000,000[2] |
Client | BBC Cymru Wales |
Owner | Rightacres Property Company Ltd[2] |
Landlord | Rightacres[2] |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 5[3] |
Floor area | 14,454 m2 (155,580 sq ft)[4] |
Design and construction | |
Architect | Gerard Evenden[5] |
Architecture firm | Foster + Partners[6] |
Developer | Rightacres Property[3] |
Engineer | Arup[2] |
Structural engineer | Arup[1] |
Civil engineer | AECOM[2] |
Other designers | ID:SR Sheppard Robson (interior)[2] |
Quantity surveyor | Currie & Brown[2] |
Main contractor | ISG UK Construction West[1] |
Website | |
centralsquarecardiff |
The £120 million building replaced the BBC Cymru Wales Broadcasting House in Llandaff,[6] when 1,000 production and support staff began moving into the new facility in October 2019.[8] The building is officially located at 3 Central Square, but has also been referred to as BBC New Broadcasting House.[9]
Design and construction
Construction started in December 2015[1] on the site of the former Cardiff Central bus station.[10] The building will be half the size of the current Broadcasting House in Llandaff.[10] The BBC received the keys to the building in April 2018, after which the headquarters was fitted out with new technology[11] before staff moved in, around October 2019.[4]
The building has been designed by Foster + Partners,[6] with the interior design by Overbury and Sheppard Robson.[12] There will be four floors providing office, studio and production space.[1] There will be desk space for 750 staff, on the basis that not all the 1,200 staff will be on site at the same time.[12]
The internal size of Central Square over several floors is 155,582 square feet (14,454.0 m2), making it nearly 1.5 times the area of the Millennium Stadium pitch.[13]
It is envisaged that an estimated 50,000 people will visit the new building every year.[10] The BBC agreed a 20-year lease on the building at an annual rent of around £25 per square foot per annum with Rightacres Property Company, the developer of the Central Square.[14]
Images during and after construction
- January 2017
- April 2017
- October 2017
- July 2019
- September 2019
See also
Notes
- "ISG named as main contractor for BBC Wales new headquarters at Central Square scheme in the centre of Cardiff". Wales Online. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- Wilson, Rob. "BBC Wales moves into Sheppard Robson-designed broadcast facility". Architects Journal.
- Chris Pyke (6 December 2016). "The new BBC HQ is already changing the cityscape of Cardiff". Wales Online. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- "BBC Wales staff start move to new Cardiff headquarters". BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- Sion Barry (26 June 2015). "Plans revealed for one of Wales's most ambitious development projects at Central Square scheme in Cardiff". Wales Online. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- "First images inside BBC Wales' new £120m headquarters in the centre of Cardiff". Wales Online. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- "Central Square & BBC Wales Headquarters Building (Sept 14)". Design Commission for Wales. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- "BBC Wales staff start move to new headquarters". 21 October 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- "IP at the Core - Setting the Standards for Live IP Production - BBC R&D". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- Huw Thomas (10 June 2014). "BBC Wales HQ at bus station site". BBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- "BBC get keys to new Cardiff Central Square HQ". Property Magazine International. 18 April 2018.
- Sion Barry (25 April 2018). "Inside the new £100m BBC Cymru Wales headquarters". Wales Online. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- Wilson, Rob. "BBC Wales moves into Sheppard Robson-designed broadcast facility". Architects Journal. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- "What the relocation of BBC Wales' headquarters means for Cardiff city centre". Walesonline. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
External links
Media related to 3 Central Square at Wikimedia Commons