Last night we wandered into the lobby of Broadcasting House on the way from the pub to Pizza Express. Paul - down from Warrington - wanted to see inside. Now I don't know how many national broadcasting stations you can actually get into - but at 9.30 on a wet evening the staff were really welcoming and didn't try to shoo us out.
Broadcasting House is an excellent building and the lobby, which has been recently done up is a tribute to 30's architecture. There is an Eric Gill sculpture above the desk entitled Sower, a man broadcasting seed. There is an inscription below - "Deus incrementum dat" (God giveth the increase, Corinthians, Chapter 3, verse 7). That's a great motto for broadcasting - remembering that we are not masters of the success of our broadcasting outputs. The idea that the BBC might become a focus for activity was part of the original re-design. A new "square" is being constructed which is supposed to have cafes and an exhibition, as well as the BBC bookshops, but I wonder whether it will happen. (Security is paramount in London these days) There is also the minor point that the "Square" on the right in the photo, will be overshadowed by the original building putting it in shade most of the day.
© Janet Hall/RIBA Library Photographs Collection
'
'
Comments