BBC Scotland Pacific Quay, Glasgow

Award-winning interior fit-out of the BBC Scotland Headquarters at Pacific Quay, Glasgow.

Graven worked closely with BBC Scotland, the architect David Chipperfield and Bovis on the new headquarters building. Unusually, it contains the whole programme-making and broadcast process in a single building, an apparently simple glass box, on the south bank of the River Clyde. The building is organised around a red sandstone stepped “street” which rises through the building connecting all of the distributed parts.

Graven’s role was to help ensure that the working environment would support the creativity of BBC Scotland through encouraging interaction and collaboration throughout the open plan offices, reception, sandstone street and restaurant. The formal workspaces are organised around a kind of social “central nervous system” which connects the very public reception space to the staff restaurant on the 5th floor. The restaurant is on the top floor and a social hub as well as being an important and well used informal meeting space. The highly developed hierarchy of informal meeting spaces extends far beyond the usual lip service paid to interaction through “breakout” areas.

The reception area is formatted to be accessible and inviting to the public and delivers real information about the BBC as well as promoting education, content and technology. A special range of furniture was also designed by Graven for the Street. These are monolithic benches in locally grown Scottish oak. In contrast to the red sandstone of Glasgow’s urban fabric, these pieces represent Scotland’s rural communities.

Awards
BCO Regional award winner 2008 in Corporate category
RIBA Awards 2008 for One of best British Buildings
Scottish Design Award winner 2008 for Interior Design Category
IALD – International Lighting Design Awards Winners 2009