BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House

BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House[7] (Welsh: Tŷ Darlledu Newydd BBC Cymru Wales), previously known as BBC Wales Headquarters building, is a television studio and office in Central Square, Cardiff.[8] It is operated by BBC Cymru Wales, and also serves as a base for S4C.[9]

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

BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House
Tŷ Darlledu Newydd BBC Cymru Wales
July 2019
BBC Wales
BBC Wales headquarters building location
General information
StatusOpen
TypeBroadcasting office
Architectural styleHigh-tech architecture
LocationCardiff city centre
Address3 Central Square, Cardiff CF10 1FP
Town or cityCardiff
CountryWales
Coordinates51.476268°N 3.179891°W / 51.476268; -3.179891
Current tenantsBBC Cymru Wales
S4C
Mixed retail
Construction started7 December 2015 [1]
Completed1 August 2019
OpenedOctober 2019[2]
Cost£100,000,000[2]
ClientBBC Cymru Wales
OwnerRightacres Property Company Ltd[2]
LandlordRightacres[2]
Technical details
Floor count5[3]
Floor area14,454 m2 (155,580 sq ft)[4]
Design and construction
ArchitectGerard Evenden[5]
Architecture firmFoster + Partners[6]
DeveloperRightacres Property[3]
EngineerArup[2]
Structural engineerArup[1]
Civil engineerAECOM[2]
Other designersID:SR Sheppard Robson (interior)[2]
Quantity surveyorCurrie & Brown[2]
Main contractorISG UK Construction West[1]
Website
centralsquarecardiff.co.uk

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.[9] The building is officially located at 3 Central Square, but has also been referred to as BBC New Broadcasting House.[10]

Design and construction

Construction started in December 2015[1] on the site of the former Cardiff Central bus station.[11] The building will be half the size of the current Broadcasting House in Llandaff.[11] The BBC received the keys to the building in April 2018, after which the headquarters was fitted out with new technology[12] 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.[13] 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.[13]

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.[14]

It is envisaged that an estimated 50,000 people will visit the new building every year.[11] 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.[15]

Operation

The building's first audio broadcast was made on 14th July 2020 by channel director Tim Cooper on BBC2 Wales. Channel director Leanne Thomas introduced the Six O'clock news on BBC1 Wales for the first time on 15th July.[16] This was followed by the first radio broadcasts, by BBC Radio Cymru 2 host Daniel Glyn on the 25 July[17] and by BBC Radio Wales host Owen Money on the 31 July.[18] The building's first video broadcast was made by reporter Alex Jennings as part of a piece to air on the afternoon broadcast of Wales Today.[19]

BBC One Wales and BBC Two Wales, the Welsh opt-out versions of BBC One and BBC Two, were first broadcast from the new presentation suites in July 2020,[20] with news programmes broadcast from September 2020.[21]

Images during and after construction
  • January 2017
  • April 2017
  • October 2017
  • July 2019
  • September 2019

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. "BBC Wales moves into Sheppard Robson-designed broadcast facility". Architects Journal.
  3. Chris Pyke (6 December 2016). "The new BBC HQ is already changing the cityscape of Cardiff". Wales Online. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  4. "BBC Wales staff start move to new Cardiff headquarters". BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  5. 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.
  6. "First images inside BBC Wales' new £120m headquarters in the centre of Cardiff". Wales Online. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  7. "BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House Central Sqaure Cardiff" (PDF). Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  8. "Central Square & BBC Wales Headquarters Building (Sept 14)". Design Commission for Wales. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  9. "BBC Wales staff start move to new headquarters". 21 October 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  10. "IP at the Core - Setting the Standards for Live IP Production - BBC R&D". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  11. Huw Thomas (10 June 2014). "BBC Wales HQ at bus station site". BBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  12. "BBC get keys to new Cardiff Central Square HQ". Property Magazine International. 18 April 2018.
  13. Sion Barry (25 April 2018). "Inside the new £100m BBC Cymru Wales headquarters". Wales Online. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  14. Wilson, Rob. "BBC Wales moves into Sheppard Robson-designed broadcast facility". Architects Journal. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  15. "What the relocation of BBC Wales' headquarters means for Cardiff city centre". Walesonline. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  16. "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.
  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. 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.
  20. "BBC Wales goes live from new Cardiff HQ". BBC News. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  21. "TV news last and firsts for BBC in Cardiff". BBC News. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
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