BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House explained

BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House
Native Name:Tŷ Darlledu Newydd BBC Cymru Wales
Native Name Lang:cy
Map Type:Wales Cardiff Central
Map Alt:Map of Cardiff, Wales showing the BBC Wales headquarters building location
Map Dot Label:New Broadcasting House
Status:Open
Building Type:Broadcasting office and retail units
Architectural Style:High-tech architecture
Location:Cardiff city centre
Address:BBC Cymru Wales,
Central Square,
Cardiff
CF10 1FT
Location City:Cardiff
Location Country:Wales
Start Date:7 December 2015
Completion Date:1 August 2019
Opened Date:October 2019[1]
Cost:£120,000,000
Client:BBC Cymru Wales
Floor Count:5[2]
Floor Area:[3]
Grounds Area:[4]
Architect:Gerard Evenden[5]
Architecture Firm:Foster + Partners
Developer:Rightacres Property
Engineer:Arup
Structural Engineer:Arup[6]
Civil Engineer:AECOM
Other Designers:ID:SR Sheppard Robson (interior)
Quantity Surveyor:Currie & Brown
Main Contractor:ISG
Awards:
  • 2019 – RICS Awards, Winner, Innovation in Design
  • 2019 – Insider Property Awards, Wales – Development of the Year
  • 2019 – Constructing Excellence Awards, Wales, Winner, Building Project of the Year
  • 2020 – Best Fit Out of a Workplace (South West) by the British Council for Offices.[7]

BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House[8], previously known as the BBC Cymru Wales headquarters building, is the headquarters of BBC Cymru Wales in Central Square, Cardiff. It operates many of its broadcasting services (radio and TV) from there using IP-based studios.[9] [10] It also serves as a base for S4C.[11]

The £120 million building replaced the BBC Cymru Wales Broadcasting House in Llandaff,[12] when 1,000 production and support staff began moving into the new facility in October 2019. The building is officially located at 3 Central Square, but has also been referred to as BBC New Broadcasting House.[13]

Operation

The building's first live transmission was made on 14 July 2020 by continuity announcer Tim Cooper on BBC Two Wales. Continuity announcer-director Leanne Thomas introduced the Six O'Clock News on BBC One Wales for the first time on 15 July.[14] [15]

This was followed by the first radio broadcasts - by BBC Radio Cymru 2 host Daniel Glyn on 25 July[16] and BBC Radio Wales host Owen Money on 31 July.[17]

TV news programmes including BBC Wales Today for BBC One Wales and Newyddion for S4C transferred from Llandaff to Central Square in September 2020,[18] [19]

On 27 January 2021, S4C moved its TV and online operations from Parc Tŷ Glas, in Llanishen, Cardiff to Central Square from where the channel now broadcasts. Under a partnership agreement, BBC Wales provides S4C's playout and other technology services.[20]

The building has achieved the BREEAM "Outstanding" rating,[21] which was first introduced in August 2008 to recognise a new standard of sustainability for exemplary buildings.[22] The building will also be the first BBC building to use live IP (internet protocol) technology,[12] it also has augmented reality, virtual reality and robotic cameras.[23]

Design and construction

Construction started in December 2015[6] on the site of the former Cardiff Central bus station. The building is half the size of the former Broadcasting House in Llandaff.[24] The BBC received the keys to the building in April 2018, after which the headquarters was fitted out with new technology[25] before staff moved in, around October 2019.[3]

The building has been designed by Foster + Partners,[12] with the interior design by Overbury and Sheppard Robson.[26] There will be four floors providing office, studio and production space.[6] 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.

The internal size of Central Square over several floors is 155582square feet, making it nearly 1.5 times the area of the Millennium Stadium pitch.[27]

It is envisaged that an estimated 50,000 people will visit the new building every year.[24] 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.[28]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BBC Wales moves into Sheppard Robson-designed broadcast facility . Rob . Wilson . Architects Journal . 6 January 2020 .
  2. News: Chris Pyke . The new BBC HQ is already changing the cityscape of Cardiff . Wales Online . 6 December 2016 . 26 December 2017 . 21 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171221233718/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/new-bbc-already-changing-cityscape-12275567 . live .
  3. News: BBC Wales staff start move to new Cardiff headquarters . BBC News . 21 October 2019 . 28 October 2019 . 28 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191028165724/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50117558 . live .
  4. News: Projects: New Broadcasting House, BBC Cymru Wales, Cardiff . building.co.uk . 20 February 2020 . 10 July 2022 . 12 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240712060423/https://www.building.co.uk/buildings/projects-new-broadcasting-house-bbc-cymru-wales-cardiff/5104374.article . live .
  5. News: Sion Barry . Plans revealed for one of Wales's most ambitious development projects at Central Square scheme in Cardiff . Wales Online . 26 June 2015 . 31 December 2017 . 31 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171231211926/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/plans-revealed-one-waless-most-9535343 . live .
  6. News: ISG named as main contractor for BBC Wales new headquarters at Central Square scheme in the centre of Cardiff . . 18 November 2015 . 25 September 2017 . 25 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170925181704/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/commercial-property/isg-named-main-contractor-bbc-10459134 . live .
  7. News: BBC Wales named Best Fit Out of a Workplace at BCO Awards . newsfromwales.co.uk . 9 July 2022 . 9 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220709204406/https://newsfromwales.co.uk/bbc-wales-named-best-fit-out-of-a-workplace-at-bco-awards/ . live .
  8. News: BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House Central Square Cardiff . 8 January 2021 . en-GB . 4 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211104220059/http://naissancecapital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BBC-Cymru-Wales-New-Broadcasting-House-Cardiff-Brochure-Draft-27-03-2015.pdf . live .
  9. Web site: Central Square & BBC Wales Headquarters Building (Sept 14) . 23 September 2014 . Design Commission for Wales . 28 September 2017 . 21 August 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190821202249/https://dcfw.org/central-square-bbc-wales-headquarters-building-oct-2014/ . live .
  10. News: 25 September 2020 . BBC Wales' farewell to Llandaff after 54 years . en-GB . BBC News . 12 March 2021 . 18 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210318234321/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-54281802 . live .
  11. News: BBC Wales staff start move to new headquarters . 21 October 2019 . 11 January 2020 . en-GB . 28 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191028232241/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-50117558 . live .
  12. News: First images inside BBC Wales' new £120m headquarters in the centre of Cardiff . . 7 July 2017 . 25 September 2017 . 25 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170925181548/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/first-images-inside-bbc-wales-13300394 . live .
  13. Web site: IP at the Core - Setting the Standards for Live IP Production - BBC R&D . www.bbc.co.uk . 8 January 2019 . 11 January 2020 . 30 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220330051054/https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/blog/2019-01-ip-production-standards-interoperability-facilities . live .
  14. Web site: 15 July 2020 . A big moment behind the scenes earlier! Watch the BBC News at Six being introduced live for the very first time from our new home in Cardiff Central Square. . 7 September 2020 . Twitter . en . 15 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200715203637/https://twitter.com/BBCWales/status/1283467607820111874 . live .
  15. News: 15 July 2020 . BBC Wales goes live from new Cardiff HQ . en-GB . BBC News . 30 September 2020 . 29 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200829005643/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-53420795 . live .
  16. Web site: 25 July 2020 . The first radio broadcast from Central Square, Cardiff goes live on @BBCRadioCymru2 and @BBCRadioCymru . 7 September 2020 . Twitter . en . 25 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200725123837/https://twitter.com/BBCWalesPress/status/1286974823621627904 . live .
  17. Web site: 31 July 2020 . A big moment behind the scenes earlier! Owen Money broadcast the first ever BBC Radio Wales show from our new home in Cardiff Central Square. . 7 September 2020 . Twitter . en . 31 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200731191241/https://twitter.com/BBCRadioWales/status/1289277650943578112 . live .
  18. News: 28 September 2020 . TV news last and firsts for BBC in Cardiff . en-GB . BBC News . 30 September 2020 . 1 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201101045836/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-54300029 . live .
  19. Web site: Jennings . Alex . 20 August 2020 . Battled the wind a little for tonight's live report but it was exciting for 2 reasons... . 7 September 2020 . Twitter . en . 20 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200820183726/https://twitter.com/alexsjennings/status/1296516642495660034 . live .
  20. Web site: Press S4C . 13 February 2021 . www.s4c.cymru . 27 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210127142503/https://www.s4c.cymru/en/press/post/41474/s4c-broadcasts-from-central-square/ . live .
  21. News: Hamish Champ . Fosters and ID:SR complete BBC Wales' new Cardiff headquarters . . 14 November 2019 . 9 July 2022 . 15 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220815000640/https://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/fosters-and-idsr-complete-bbc-wales-new-cardiff-headquarters/5102689.article . live .
  22. Web site: First Design-Stage BREEAM Outstanding . . 24 October 2016 . 9 July 2022 . 9 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220709090631/https://bregroup.com/case-studies/first-design-stage-breeam-outstanding/#:~:text=The%20new%20BREEAM%20Outstanding%20rating,70%25%20for%20an%20Excellent%20rating. . live .
  23. Web site: 24 June 2022 . Experience the future of broadcasting at the new BBC Cymru Wales studio . 9 July 2022 . walesonline.co.uk . en . 9 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220709171032/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/special-features/experience-broadcasting-bbc-cymru-studio-24270897 . live .
  24. News: Huw Thomas . BBC Wales HQ at bus station site . . 10 June 2014 . 25 September 2017 . 12 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170912014833/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-27781784 . live .
  25. News: BBC get keys to new Cardiff Central Square HQ . Property Magazine International . 18 April 2018 . 15 October 2018 . 12 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240712060426/https://www.property-magazine.eu/bbc-gets-keys-to-new-cardiff-central-square-hq-47165.html . live .
  26. News: Sion Barry . Inside the new £100m BBC Cymru Wales headquarters . Wales Online . 25 April 2018 . 15 October 2018 . 16 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181016032728/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/inside-new-100m-bbc-cymru-14574179 . live .
  27. Web site: BBC Wales moves into Sheppard Robson-designed broadcast facility . Wilson . Rob . Architects Journal . 6 January 2020 . en . 11 January 2020 . 11 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200111200500/https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/bbc-wales-moves-into-sheppard-robson-designed-broadcast-facility/10045816.article . live .
  28. Web site: What the relocation of BBC Wales' headquarters means for Cardiff city centre . . 25 September 2017 . 12 June 2014 . 26 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170926041756/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/what-relocation-bbc-wales-headquarters-7255043 . live .