White City Place

The group of buildings now known as White City Place was first conceived as BBC Media Village, a commission Allies and Morrison won in 2000.

This corner of White City had been synonymous with the BBC for half a century. Thirty years after the iconic BBC Television Centre opened its doors just down the road it was joined by the Corporation's administrative headquarters White City One in 1990. A few years later, a BBC decision to consolidate staff in the capital focused on three major campuses in central and west London, and triggered the brief for Media Village which would see the 6.8 ha White City site ultimately accommodate 6,000 people across 139,000 sqm of broadcasting facilities, leisure, office and retail space, as well as a dedicated energy centre.

Our approach to the original commission envisaged a masterplan of eight buildings, five of which (totalling 96,000 sqm GEA) have been constructed, including the Broadcast Centre, the Media Centre and Garden House. The BBC felt that their existing 1990s HQ building was enclosed and inward-looking and they wanted the new facilities to be different. The disposition of the new buildings was therefore considered as a piece of urban planning with a particular emphasis on the quality of the new public realm, integrating shops and cafes, and outdoor spaces for public-facing events. The public realm strategy coupled with the client's emphasis on open workspaces in their new offices were instrumental in generating the working environment that the BBC wanted.

Both inside and outside, the refresh of Media Village - now White City Place - has illustrated a commitment to re-examining existing buildings regardless of the era they are from and finding ways to extend their lives and improve their performance with creative intervention, adaptation and sustainable re-use.

White City One required the most significant transformation. The BBC legacy had left a building epic in scale and proportion, which was no longer fit for purpose. Dark glazing, a symmetrical plan and formal entrance atrium characterised the building. Suspended ceilings, heavy compartmentalisation and disconnected circulation routes made it hard to navigate and were not suited to contemporary requirements.

A series of interventions has improved the functionality of the building, increased lettable space and given an overall aesthetic uplift. With a focus on working with rather than against the building, and reusing, repurposing and renovation wherever possible.

Perhaps the most important change was the decision to move the building's main entrance to face the campus' landscaped central thoroughfare. This established a closer relationship with the building's neighbours and unlocked the internal circulation opening a cross-route linking the lift cores, allowing typical floors to be easily subdivided for separate tenancies.

White City Place's shift in character from providing support to services for the BBC to becoming a front-facing media, tech and education campus continues with plans for additional construction now under way. The original masterplan contained proposals for three further buildings at the south end of the site but the consented music centre and offices were shelved and the site had remained undeveloped. Gateway Central (Allies and Morrison) and Gateway West (Gort Scott) are now completed, with Gateway East to follow. The trio of buildings will provide an additional 101,675 sqm of office space with retail and restaurants on the ground floor, further reinforcing the aspirations of the White City Opportunity Area Planning Framework.