BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House

BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House[9] (Welsh: Tŷ Darlledu Newydd BBC Cymru Wales), 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.[10][11] It also serves as a base for S4C.[12]

For the former BBC Wales headquarters, see Broadcasting House, Cardiff.

BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House
Tŷ Darlledu Newydd BBC Cymru Wales
July 2019
Map of Cardiff, Wales showing the BBC Wales headquarters building location
Map of Cardiff, Wales showing the BBC Wales headquarters building location
New Broadcasting House
BBC Wales headquarters building location
General information
StatusOpen
TypeBroadcasting office and retail units
Architectural styleHigh-tech architecture
LocationCardiff city centre
AddressBBC Cymru Wales,
Central Square,
Cardiff
CF10 1FT
Town or cityCardiff
CountryWales
Coordinates51.476268°N 3.179891°W / 51.476268; -3.179891
Current tenantsBBC Cymru Wales
S4C, Boots, Greggs, Tesco, Pret a Manger
Construction started7 December 2015[1]
Completed1 August 2019
OpenedOctober 2019[2]
Cost£120,000,000[3]
ClientBBC Cymru Wales
Height30 m (98 ft)
Technical details
Floor count5[4]
Floor area14,454 m2 (155,580 sq ft)[5]
Grounds26,000 m2 (280,000 sq ft)[3]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Gerard Evenden[6]
Architecture firmFoster + Partners[7]
DeveloperRightacres Property[4]
EngineerArup[2]
Structural engineerArup[1]
Civil engineerAECOM[2]
Other designersID:SR Sheppard Robson (interior)[2]
Quantity surveyorCurrie & Brown[2]
Main contractorISG[1]
Awards and prizes
  • 2020 – Best Fit Out of a Workplace (South West) by the British Council for Offices.[8]
  • 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

The £120 million building replaced the BBC Cymru Wales Broadcasting House in Llandaff,[7] when 1,000 production and support staff began moving into the new facility in October 2019.[12] The building is officially located at 3 Central Square, but has also been referred to as BBC New Broadcasting House.[13]

Operation
The interior of New Broadcasting House
Atrium, looking towards the Wood St entrance
Atrium, looking in the direction of the Central Square entrance
Console B for the BBC Two Wales continuity announcer
Lucy Owen presenting BBC Wales Today in one of the TV studios in New Broadcasting House
General studio on the ground floor of New Broadcasting House, where Crimewatch Live is broadcast[14]

The building's first live transmission was made on 14 July 2020 by continuity announcer Tim Cooper on BBC Two Wales. Continuity announcer Leanne Thomas introduced the Six O'clock news on BBC One Wales for the first time on 15 July.[15][16]

This was followed by the first radio broadcasts - by BBC Radio Cymru 2 host Daniel Glyn on 25 July[17] and BBC Radio Wales host Owen Money on 31 July.[18]

TV news programmes including BBC Wales Today for BBC One Wales and Newyddion for S4C transferred from Llandaff to Central Square in September 2020,[19] with viewers seeing the building's roof garden in a live broadcast by reporter Alex Jennings on an afternoon broadcast of Wales Today.[20]

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.[21]

The building has achieved the BREEAM "Outstanding" rating,[22] which was first introduced in August 2008 to recognise a new standard of sustainability for exemplary buildings.[23] The building will also be the first BBC building to use live IP (internet protocol) technology,[7] it also has augmented reality, virtual reality and robotic cameras.[24]

Design and construction

Construction started in December 2015[1] on the site of the former Cardiff Central bus station.[25] The building is half the size of the former Broadcasting House in Llandaff.[25] The BBC received the keys to the building in April 2018, after which the headquarters was fitted out with new technology[26] before staff moved in, around October 2019.[5]

The building has been designed by Foster + Partners,[7] with the interior design by Overbury and Sheppard Robson.[27] 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.[27]

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.[28]

It is envisaged that an estimated 50,000 people will visit the new building every year.[25] 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.[29]

Construction of New Broadcasting House
January 2017
April 2017
October 2017

See also

Notes
  1. "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.
  2. Wilson, Rob (6 January 2020). "BBC Wales moves into Sheppard Robson-designed broadcast facility". Architects Journal.
  3. "Projects: New Broadcasting House, BBC Cymru Wales, Cardiff". building.co.uk. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  4. Chris Pyke (6 December 2016). "The new BBC HQ is already changing the cityscape of Cardiff". Wales Online. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  5. "BBC Wales staff start move to new Cardiff headquarters". BBC News. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  6. 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.
  7. "First images inside BBC Wales' new £120m headquarters in the centre of Cardiff". Wales Online. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  8. "BBC Wales named Best Fit Out of a Workplace at BCO Awards". newsfromwales.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  9. "BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House Central Square Cardiff" (PDF). Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  10. "Central Square & BBC Wales Headquarters Building (Sept 14)". Design Commission for Wales. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  11. "BBC Wales' farewell to Llandaff after 54 years". BBC News. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  12. "BBC Wales staff start move to new headquarters". 21 October 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  13. "IP at the Core - Setting the Standards for Live IP Production - BBC R&D". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  14. Miller, Rebecca (8 March 2021). "Crimewatch Live: BBC announces major change to show 'Really exciting!'". express.co.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  15. "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". Twitter. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  16. "BBC Wales goes live from new Cardiff HQ". BBC News. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  17. "The first radio broadcast from Central Square, Cardiff goes live on @BBCRadioCymru2 and @BBCRadioCymru". Twitter. 25 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  18. "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". Twitter. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  19. "TV news last and firsts for BBC in Cardiff". BBC News. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  20. Jennings, Alex (20 August 2020). "Battled the wind a little for tonight's live report but it was exciting for 2 reasons..." Twitter. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  21. "Press | S4C". www.s4c.cymru. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  22. Hamish Champ (14 November 2019). "Fosters and ID:SR complete BBC Wales' new Cardiff headquarters". Building Design. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  23. "First Design-Stage BREEAM Outstanding". Building Research Establishment. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  24. "Experience the future of broadcasting at the new BBC Cymru Wales studio". walesonline.co.uk. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  25. Huw Thomas (10 June 2014). "BBC Wales HQ at bus station site". BBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  26. "BBC get keys to new Cardiff Central Square HQ". Property Magazine International. 18 April 2018.
  27. Sion Barry (25 April 2018). "Inside the new £100m BBC Cymru Wales headquarters". Wales Online. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  28. Wilson, Rob (6 January 2020). "BBC Wales moves into Sheppard Robson-designed broadcast facility". Architects Journal. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  29. "What the relocation of BBC Wales' headquarters means for Cardiff city centre". Walesonline. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
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