Urban Design Takes Centerstage At The Offices Of BBC North
Recently we’ve seen a number of office projects work to emulate the hustle-and-bustle of city life. Some have added faux shops, others have created streets where employees pass and mingle. The office design of BBC North is another such project. Working with ID:SR, the goal was to create a workplace that is a thriving urban neighborhood as well.
In timely fashion, we’ve just learned the basics of Activity Based Working, and it seems that BBC is a candidate which has used some techniques for this new office. The Guardian notes that there are no private offices – not even the head of BBC North has one. Instead, there are hot desking booths, collaboration zones, telephone chairs.
Employees can take advantage of lockers for storage, and photo collage walls and shelving to help personalize the entire space as individuals do not have a particular space to call their own.
“As the BBC began to plan the move of 2,300 posts to their new centre at MediaCityUK in Salford they commissioned ID:SR to design a new home for the corporation that would reflect the incredible creativity of its people and the content they create. The project was completed in phases to the end of 2011.”
Again, with 2300 employees working in this environment, the goal is to create a healthy buzz and activity level that generates creativity. Successful companies like Pixar have actively designed to generate these random interactions, so it makes sense to see more of this style of design – though this time with a twist of ABW.
Design: ID:SR
Photography: Will Pryce and Gareth Gardner
