Five new buildings by Allies and Morrison at White City

BBC Media Village to play part in regeneration of urban area

Public art programme major part of BBC Media Village initiative

The BBC's new Media Village at White City in London will be officially opened tomorrow evening, Wednesday 12 May, by Jonathan Ross .

Five new buildings by distinguished architects Allies and Morrison have joined the original BBC White City building to create the new 17-acre BBC Media Village site on Wood Lane, London W12, providing office space for approximately 6,000 people.

The new buildings have already been awarded an 'excellent' rating under BREEAM, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, which assesses the environmental impact of buildings.

The new buildings are:

the Broadcast Centre (40,491 square metres), which houses the BBC's state-of-the-art television playout business;

the Media Centre (39,014 square metres), which provides office accommodation for BBC staff;

the Energy Centre (7,719 square metres), which provides power, heating, cooling and other services to the entire site;

two perimeter buildings which are available to be sub-let to other media companies.

The Media Village development will play a central role in the regeneration of the wider urban area and, as well as the new office buildings, includes shops, cafes, a post office and a supermarket open to all in White City - local residents and BBC staff.

John Smith, BBC Director of Finance, Property & Business Affairs and newly-appointed RIBA Fellow, said: "In its television and radio output the BBC has always been a major cultural patron and through a revived building strategy we are now seeking to express those same high standards of creativity in our architecture and design.

"We want to create working environments which will inspire our staff to new broadcasting heights, add to the BBC's heritage and encourage the local community to come in and see just exactly what goes on inside their BBC."

A public art programme of both temporary and permanent exhibitions is a major feature of the BBC Media Village site.

Japanese artist Yuko Shiraishi has worked with architects Allies and Morrison on permanent colour schemes built into the internal and external fabric of the buildings;

Simon Patterson has created a mural for the Broadcast Centre featuring the names of 'behind the scenes' film and television talent;

and Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and graphic designer John Morgan have collaborated on a poem on broadcasting inlaid into the surface of the pedestrian street running through the centre of the development.

Artworks have also been commissioned for the Media Village opening from new and emerging artists.

These include a huge portcullis by Hew Locke, over 20 feet high and made of acrylic mirror and rope lights, which will be suspended in one of the atria of the Media Centre, as well as Chutes by Stuart Mugridge, a one-off performance for the opening event in which hundreds of tiny parachutes holding toy soldiers will be launched inside the building.

Chutes is inspired by the history of the White City site which was used for tent and parachute making during the First and Second World Wars.

The British Council has also kindly lent art from their collection for display in the BBC White City buildings.

Artworks include pieces by Patrick Caulfield, Sean Scully, Mark Francis and Michael Craig-Martin.