SP
Some aerial views of TVC in this video which gets played out between feeds from SCAR
BU
Don't think I've heard that first variation on the news theme since the 9/11 attacks when it was used for a few compilations of footage. And the second is BBC Four News (later The World)?
That footage looks to have been filmed a while back as Wood Lane Station (and indeed Westfield itself from what I can see) hasn't been built.
Thanks for posting!
Some aerial views of TVC in this video which gets played out between feeds from SCAR
Don't think I've heard that first variation on the news theme since the 9/11 attacks when it was used for a few compilations of footage. And the second is BBC Four News (later The World)?
That footage looks to have been filmed a while back as Wood Lane Station (and indeed Westfield itself from what I can see) hasn't been built.
Thanks for posting!
GE
thegeek
Founding member
One of TVC's much-maligned canteens, The Filling Station, was renamed to Fuel Stop a few years back. Alas, its old nickname lives on, and it appears to have turned up on Twitter, and is enjoying some witty banter with some famous (and not so famous) BBC people... http://twitter.com/KillingStation
NG
And before that it was "Headlines" on the 6th floor (before News moved to the News Centre).
Ah - the days of Sonia, Nancy and Linda.
noggin
Founding member
One of TVC's much-maligned canteens, The Filling Station, was renamed to Fuel Stop a few years back. Alas, its old nickname lives on, and it appears to have turned up on Twitter, and is enjoying some witty banter with some famous (and not so famous) BBC people... http://twitter.com/KillingStation
And before that it was "Headlines" on the 6th floor (before News moved to the News Centre).
Ah - the days of Sonia, Nancy and Linda.
MO
...and here's the logo actually going on!
Here the latest photo from media city. Showing the BBC logo on the building.
http://www.mawhitfield.co.uk/mediacityuk%20bbc%20north%20university%20salford%20quays%20manchester%20peel%20nwda%20jobs/bbcmediacityukweb2011q1j/mediacityukmcukpeelsmediacityuksalfordquaysbbcnorthjune20th2011mediacityukwebcamtimelinenwda2.html
http://www.mawhitfield.co.uk/mediacityuk%20bbc%20north%20university%20salford%20quays%20manchester%20peel%20nwda%20jobs/bbcmediacityukweb2011q1j/mediacityukmcukpeelsmediacityuksalfordquaysbbcnorthjune20th2011mediacityukwebcamtimelinenwda2.html
...and here's the logo actually going on!
BC
It was given an extra caption for a while last year:
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Media/Pix/pictures/2010/8/16/1281956082700/The-BBC-Gateway-systems-m-006.jpg
Blake Connolly
Founding member
Some aerial views of TVC in this video which gets played out between feeds from SCAR
It was given an extra caption for a while last year:
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Media/Pix/pictures/2010/8/16/1281956082700/The-BBC-Gateway-systems-m-006.jpg
GS
Oh look, they're naming the building to follow Tumble Tower's nutty policy. Glasgow and London will have one B each.
Do you think that sill will hold a persons weight when they come to relamp those back-lit boxes? Or will they need plant equipment every time?
Gavin Scott
Founding member
Oh look, they're naming the building to follow Tumble Tower's nutty policy. Glasgow and London will have one B each.
Do you think that sill will hold a persons weight when they come to relamp those back-lit boxes? Or will they need plant equipment every time?
GE
thegeek
Founding member
Linked to from Charlie Brooker's column about the sale of TVC: the estate agent's advert which includes a nice photo gallery.
TR
Fundementally there is nothing wrong with TV Centre - at least nothing that proper maintainance woudn't cure. The BBC's own figures show that it would cost £44 million to upgrade the centre rather than the £980 million the Salford project has cost - and that is for the whole move and lease for 10 years - thats the only commitment to Salford.
Salford was designed to be a 'springboard' for new programming and talent. Instead it degenerated into a political cost cutting exercise and if the senior management had the B@lls they would admit it is not fit for purpose. Three studios of questionable design and use, a leased office building and a lot of hype. There are no real plans for any new radical programming - indeed programme budgets across the BBC have been cut (in part) to meet the ongoing expense of moving 'up north'
Its Pebble mill all over again - no lessons learnt at all. As for all the pods and fancy office gear to 'boost imagination and creative potential' - if you need an aubergine sofa and a lime green coffee table to be creative then you are in the wrong job. Inspiration comes from the real world not another designers artifically created one.
Getting rid of TV Centre is accountancy madness at its best - best idea? Flog off white city as office space (its worth more) and move the whole operation into TV Centre - as one news executive out it ' The news centre was designed as an amorphous space - use it as that. Lose the prefab office space on the roof etal. there is plenty of room in the spur to house Worldwide & production teams in the same building as a profitable production centre which would generate revenue back to the BBC to make programming. Any extra space could be easily let. Don't junk the one building which was built for the purpose for which the BBC is intendinded MAKING tv programming.
Salford was designed to be a 'springboard' for new programming and talent. Instead it degenerated into a political cost cutting exercise and if the senior management had the B@lls they would admit it is not fit for purpose. Three studios of questionable design and use, a leased office building and a lot of hype. There are no real plans for any new radical programming - indeed programme budgets across the BBC have been cut (in part) to meet the ongoing expense of moving 'up north'
Its Pebble mill all over again - no lessons learnt at all. As for all the pods and fancy office gear to 'boost imagination and creative potential' - if you need an aubergine sofa and a lime green coffee table to be creative then you are in the wrong job. Inspiration comes from the real world not another designers artifically created one.
Getting rid of TV Centre is accountancy madness at its best - best idea? Flog off white city as office space (its worth more) and move the whole operation into TV Centre - as one news executive out it ' The news centre was designed as an amorphous space - use it as that. Lose the prefab office space on the roof etal. there is plenty of room in the spur to house Worldwide & production teams in the same building as a profitable production centre which would generate revenue back to the BBC to make programming. Any extra space could be easily let. Don't junk the one building which was built for the purpose for which the BBC is intendinded MAKING tv programming.
Last edited by TROGGLES on 25 June 2011 1:38pm
SP
Don't always agree with some of your posts, TROGGLES, but I reckon you're spot on with this one.
Its Pebble mill all over again - no lessons learnt at all. As for all the pods and fancy office gear to 'boost imagination and creative potential' - if you need an aubergine sofa and alime green coffee table to be creative then you are in the wrong job. Inspiration comes from the real world not another designers artifically created one.
Getting rid of TV Centre is accountancy madness at its best - best idea? Flog off white city as office space (its worth more) and move the whole operation into TV Centre - as one news executive out it ' The news centre was designed as an amorphous space - use it as that. Lose the prefab office space on the roof etal. there is plenty of room in the spur to house Worldwide & production teams in the same building as a profitable production centre which would generate revenue back to the BBC to make programming. Any extra space could be easily let. Don't junk the one building which was built for the purpose for which the BBC is intendinded MAKING tv programming
Getting rid of TV Centre is accountancy madness at its best - best idea? Flog off white city as office space (its worth more) and move the whole operation into TV Centre - as one news executive out it ' The news centre was designed as an amorphous space - use it as that. Lose the prefab office space on the roof etal. there is plenty of room in the spur to house Worldwide & production teams in the same building as a profitable production centre which would generate revenue back to the BBC to make programming. Any extra space could be easily let. Don't junk the one building which was built for the purpose for which the BBC is intendinded MAKING tv programming
Don't always agree with some of your posts, TROGGLES, but I reckon you're spot on with this one.
DE
Agree with you on most of those points. White City (that is the original White City building) is a generally awful place. It's bafflingly confusing, dingy in places, overlit in others, you have to walk through some offices because there are no corridors, but not through others because they've subsequently built corridors. For many years it had a bar in a circular building with no windows at all apart from a skylight - it was known by most as The Sad Bar. I've got lost in it more times than I care to remember and seem to have a particular knack for finding myself in areas like dispatch, or services, or places where I feel distinctly like I'm somewhere I shouldn't be! It was never designed as anything other than office space and so is ill-suited to the edit suites and voice over booths that have been put into it. Unlike TVC which is purpose built as a Television Factory. A lot of the office accommodation at the Centre might not be up to much but there will be plenty in Stage 6 once News move out and there is a great deal of decent office space at the Media Centre and the Broadcast Centre.
Having said all that - is White City actually owned by the BBC? I'm not sure it is ...
Fundementally there is nothing wrong with TV Centre - at least nothing that proper maintainance woudn't cure. The BBC's own figures show that it would cost £44 million to upgrade the centre rather than the £980 million the Salford project has cost - and that is for the whole move and lease for 10 years - thats the only commitment to Salford.
Salford was designed to be a 'springboard' for new programming and talet. Instead it degenerated into a political cost cutting excersise and if the senior management had the B@lls they would admit it is not fit for purpose. Three studios of questionable design and use, a leased office building and a lot of hype. There are no real plans for any new radical programming - indeed programme budgets across the BBC have been cut (in part) to meet the ongoing expense of moving 'up north'
Its Pebble mill all over again - no lessons learnt at all. As for all the pods and fancy office gear to 'boost imagination and creative potential' - if you need an aubergine sofa and alime green coffee table to be creative then you are in the wrong job. Inspiration comes from the real world not another designers artifically created one.
Getting rid of TV Centre is accountancy madness at its best - best idea? Flog off white city as office space (its worth more) and move the whole operation into TV Centre - as one news executive out it ' The news centre was designed as an amorphous space - use it as that. Lose the prefab office space on the roof etal. there is plenty of room in the spur to house Worldwide & production teams in the same building as a profitable production centre which would generate revenue back to the BBC to make programming. Any extra space could be easily let. Don't junk the one building which was built for the purpose for which the BBC is intendinded MAKING tv programming
Salford was designed to be a 'springboard' for new programming and talet. Instead it degenerated into a political cost cutting excersise and if the senior management had the B@lls they would admit it is not fit for purpose. Three studios of questionable design and use, a leased office building and a lot of hype. There are no real plans for any new radical programming - indeed programme budgets across the BBC have been cut (in part) to meet the ongoing expense of moving 'up north'
Its Pebble mill all over again - no lessons learnt at all. As for all the pods and fancy office gear to 'boost imagination and creative potential' - if you need an aubergine sofa and alime green coffee table to be creative then you are in the wrong job. Inspiration comes from the real world not another designers artifically created one.
Getting rid of TV Centre is accountancy madness at its best - best idea? Flog off white city as office space (its worth more) and move the whole operation into TV Centre - as one news executive out it ' The news centre was designed as an amorphous space - use it as that. Lose the prefab office space on the roof etal. there is plenty of room in the spur to house Worldwide & production teams in the same building as a profitable production centre which would generate revenue back to the BBC to make programming. Any extra space could be easily let. Don't junk the one building which was built for the purpose for which the BBC is intendinded MAKING tv programming
Agree with you on most of those points. White City (that is the original White City building) is a generally awful place. It's bafflingly confusing, dingy in places, overlit in others, you have to walk through some offices because there are no corridors, but not through others because they've subsequently built corridors. For many years it had a bar in a circular building with no windows at all apart from a skylight - it was known by most as The Sad Bar. I've got lost in it more times than I care to remember and seem to have a particular knack for finding myself in areas like dispatch, or services, or places where I feel distinctly like I'm somewhere I shouldn't be! It was never designed as anything other than office space and so is ill-suited to the edit suites and voice over booths that have been put into it. Unlike TVC which is purpose built as a Television Factory. A lot of the office accommodation at the Centre might not be up to much but there will be plenty in Stage 6 once News move out and there is a great deal of decent office space at the Media Centre and the Broadcast Centre.
Having said all that - is White City actually owned by the BBC? I'm not sure it is ...
MW
I'm sure White City was owned by Red Bee, that might just be the Broadcast, Media and Energy Centres though.
I agree completely, the cost of moving completely outweighs the cost of staying, again.
Typical BBC, decisions made in London with no real thought.
When the BBC first moved to the Mailbox, the idea was the BBC would slowly start occupying more space inside it to build more studios. What happened - nothing. I digress, the cost of renting Pebble Mill from Calthorpe Estates stood at £1,000 per year and the building was owned by the BBC, so nothing was out of the realm of possibility, it even had a house built in the back garden! The unions worked out that it was going to cost £30,000,000 over 10 years to renovate the exterior and interior and upgrade the facilities. Sadly the BBC had made their decision and ended up paying near on £15,000,000 per year for what is converted office space with no real studio facilities except for regional news, in fact, see what they couldn't have here:
http://www.bdp.com/Global/Projects/BBC%20Mailbox/bbc_section2.jpg
Look at how big that TV studio was, I understand it was cut partially over cost and partially due to construction constraints...
Quote:
It's Pebble Mill all over again - no lessons learnt at all. As for all the pods and fancy office gear to 'boost imagination and creative potential' - if you need an aubergine sofa and a lime green coffee table to be creative then you are in the wrong job. Inspiration comes from the real world not another designers artificially created one.
I agree completely, the cost of moving completely outweighs the cost of staying, again.
Typical BBC, decisions made in London with no real thought.
When the BBC first moved to the Mailbox, the idea was the BBC would slowly start occupying more space inside it to build more studios. What happened - nothing. I digress, the cost of renting Pebble Mill from Calthorpe Estates stood at £1,000 per year and the building was owned by the BBC, so nothing was out of the realm of possibility, it even had a house built in the back garden! The unions worked out that it was going to cost £30,000,000 over 10 years to renovate the exterior and interior and upgrade the facilities. Sadly the BBC had made their decision and ended up paying near on £15,000,000 per year for what is converted office space with no real studio facilities except for regional news, in fact, see what they couldn't have here:
http://www.bdp.com/Global/Projects/BBC%20Mailbox/bbc_section2.jpg
Look at how big that TV studio was, I understand it was cut partially over cost and partially due to construction constraints...
Last edited by Mike W on 22 June 2011 7:18pm