Bbc Broadcasting House

Topic: Culture Subtopic: General

Ideum User

Case Study

of an Exhibition

by Mark Magidson

Published on October 10, 2007, Modified on October 15, 2007

  • Description and goals

    Broadcasting House London
    Client: BBC
    • An Exhibition Plus project
    • A design and build contract
    • Graphics by Fallons/Exhibition Plus
    • Opened June 2007

    Campaign sheds light on our `wonderful building’by Claire Barrett ARIEL JUNE 5 2007 The refurbished Radio Theatre opens this week, with live performances from the Pet Shop Boys, Stephen Fry and Matt Lucas among the first of hundreds of shows to be recorded there this year. A pilot marketing campaign draws attention to the Broadcasting House venue, its line-up of live music, comedy and entertainment, and the fact that tickets to all events are free. Images showing fragments of the Radio Theatre’s refurbished interior are being projected onto the front of BH (below), while audiences follow a coloured lighting trail to their seats. `It can take over an hour to get from the queue outside the building, through security and into the theatre,’ explains exhibition designer Mark Magidson. `We wanted to make that more enjoyable, but at the same time to raise the profile of Broadcasting House, which is a wonderful building but amazingly anonymous.’ What was once the BBC shop window now houses the `Media Mountain’ – a vertical installation of broadcasting paraphernalia, from crystal sets to dab radios. As part of the display, tvs will screen details of how to get tickets to BBC shows. `It’s an opportunity to welcome audiences into the heart of the broadcasting operations,’ says Steve Pollock, head of audience services and operations, `but also to learn what people want when they visit ready for the completion of Broadcasting House in 2012. `It’s expected that this will become a lively venue with face to face contact between the BBC, its audiences and passers-by.’

  • Development process and challenges

    We developed a visitor trail that takes the audience to the newly opened BBC Radio Theatre from the street, through the building, into a holding area and then into the theatre.

  • Lessons learned, mistakes we made (and what we did about them)

    At present being evaluated

  • Exhibition Opened: July 2007

  • Exhibition Still Open!

  • Traveling Exhibition: No

  • Location: London, England, U.K.

  • Website(s):  http://www.explus.co.uk