Channel Four Television Headquarters
The design reinforces the existing street pattern, encloses a new public square, and creates a striking headquarters building which is light, energy efficient and rationally organised.
The Channel 4 headquarters building occupies a prominent corner plot near Victoria Station, and comprises c.15,000 square metres of headquarters, broadcasting suites and a studio, an underground car park and a landscaped garden square. The building, clad in pewter-coated powder-grey aluminium and glass, occupies the northern and western sides of the site. Residential developers, using their own architects, built the apartment blocks that form the southern and eastern edges of the site.
The two four-storey wings contain office space accommodating up to 600 staff and are arranged in an L-shape, addressing the corner of the street with a curved connecting space framed by two ‘satellite towers’. To the left are four conference rooms stacked one on top of the other, and to the right lifts, boiler flues, and chiller plant, topped by transmission antennae. The entrance, through a dramatic concave suspended glazed wall, is the predominant feature of the scheme. A stepped ramp leads from the street over a glass bridge spanning the rooflight of the foyer/cinema complex below. Beyond the reception area a restaurant fills the curve with views over the garden. A sweeping roof-top terrace extends from the top-level board room.
The clients were looking for a scheme which expressed the character of their operations – innovative, socially aware and willing to take risks. The building admirably expresses the perceived identity of the organisation while reflecting civic and contextual values which are central to RRP’s urban architecture.
- Place/Date: London, England 1990 - 1994
- Client: Channel 4 Television Company
- Cost: £38.5 million
- Gross Internal Area: 15,000 m²
- Architect: Richard Rogers Partnership
- Structural Engineer: Ove Arup & Partners
- Services Engineer: Ove Arup & Partners
- Quantity Surveyor: Davis Langdon & Everest/Mott Green & Wall
- Space Planner: Grey Associates
- Acoustic Consultant: Sandy Brown
- Landscape Architect: Rendel & Branch
- Project Manager: Fuller Peiser
- Fire Consultant: Warrington Fire Research Consultants
- Surveyor: McBains Building Surveyors
- Main Contractor: Bovis Construction Ltd
Awards
- BBC Design Awards Finalist, 1996
- Royal Fine Art Commission Award, 1995
- RIBA National Award, 1995
--RSHP
Featured articles and news
Heat pump announcements, what homeowners need to know
An 'ultimate guide to heat pumps' from a heating company.
Construction contract awards reach £7.1bn in February
Their highest level in seven months.
The journey to sustainability in heritage
Research is the key to better understanding.
Heritage approaches to adaptation, mitigation and loss.
Bridging the gap between policy, finance and installation.
Development on brownfield land
Definition, background, policy and the latest consultation.
With the Design Framework for Building Services.
Retrofit of Buildings, a CIOB Technical Publication
Pertinent technical issues, measures and the roles involved.
ECA joins HSE campaign to support mental health
Working Minds’ five simple steps based on risk assessment.
Mental health in the construction industry
Mental health issues in brief with related articles.
Transitional arrangements, Building Control and the BSR.
For pre-October buildings with substantial progress by April.
How to write an inspection and test plan
ITPs for quality control and assurance particular elements.
Why quality counts in domestic ventilation systems
From products, to systems to the installation.
Empowering the Future with CIOB Academy
Lifelong learning, upscaling, and reskilling for the built environment.
Winners of the 2024 ASBP Awards
Project, Product and Initiative according to the 6 pillars.