Mark Diamond, Radio Theatre Manager for the BBC, met up with me on the 15th December 2014, and was kind enough to provide me  with his  knowledge of, and a tour of the building.

 

Brief background to the building; the Radio Theatre is based in the centre of the Old British Broadcasting House. Its original use in the 1930’s was , as a classical Concert Hall and hosting a large organ on the back wall (sadly now in storage). Since this time , it has been refurbished a few times, one of its major refurbishments being in the 1980's. The aim in modifying this listed building was to retain as much of the 1930's building and Art Deco style,  as possible, working closely with English Heritage to ensure no historical parts of the room were destroyed. The refurbishment of the room was to modernise the original look whilst retaining the style and heritage, the copy of the art deco style light boxes being an example of this.

 

The wall treatments have also been updated to suit today's needs of the room, as it was previously for classical music and is now used for pop/rock music and comedy events. The walls were originally made from dry materials such as plaster and rock wall, where as today it has a more sound absorbent and padded material on it. The acoustic treatments have two objectives, The first is isolation; which focuses on sound proofing the room from exterior sounds such as the Radio Theatre and the London Underground running below. To achieve this, the design incorporates walls within walls. The bigger the gaps between the walls, the more sound absorbent they become and the use of the wall panelling is designed to help absorb the sound so it does not bounce over itself. Spring flooring is also used (a floor sprung above another). However a spring floor has not been used in the Radio Theatre. Another acoustic treatment is that of Reflection; the use of soft finishes such as carpeted flooring to help with the sound absorption.

 

The ceiling has remained as it originally was (other than the lighting rafts being added in). There was no need to change or update this due to the use of the room basically being the same. If the room is to be used for another event such as classical music, there are treatments and materials that can be used to cover the speakers for the varied sound outputs required rather than making building changes. The Theatre hosts its own recording studio, which has cladding, (felt walls with hard acrylics over the top) coating the room to help the reverberated sound travel through smoothly. The studio was designed so the technicians can hear loud sounds clearly.

 

I was also shown other rooms within the BBC, such as the classical recording studio and performance room, which has a dead sound to it so that the detail from the instruments can be heard clearly. The room hosted a triple glazed wall (with the studio the other side) and had panels all around the room, including the radiator covers to swallow the sound and avoid reverberation. It also contains an electronically artificial reverberation system to create reflective or dominant sounds if necessary.

 

I asked Mr Diamond a few questions in relation to the design and the branding through the building;

 

Q: Do you believe there should be a relationship between the musical intentions and design of the building?

 

A: Yes, there definitely should be a relationship, as musicians have to perform in places designed badly for them.

 

Q: Is the BBC's brand brought through the room's design?

 

A: When filming a show the camera often starts on the 'In Concert' sign, with a projection of the radio or TV station it is for on the wall next to it.

 

Q: If you could change anything about the room what would it be?

 

A: The floor, if it could be a rate floor, one which would be levelled out flat or kept on a level.

 

Q: Is the equipment updated often?

 

A: The equipment is not updated much due to its cost, so the original fitting is very important. 

 

Answers are not a direct quote