BROADCASTING HOUSE (BBC) ARCHITECTURE: ART DECO LANDMARK IN LONDON

Broadcasting House is one of the most distinctive buildings in London. Completed in 1932 at the junction of Portland Place and Langham Place, it was designed by architect George Val Myer — in collaboration with the BBC's engineer M. T. Tudsbery — as the world's first purpose-built broadcast headquarters.

What makes Broadcasting House architecturally remarkable is the problem it had to solve: at its core sits a massive windowless brick tower of 22 sound-insulated studios, wrapped in a steel-framed outer shell of offices faced in Portland stone. The building's celebrated Art Deco exterior — its curved prow, its vertical emphasis, and Eric Gill's monumental sculptures of Prospero and Ariel above the entrance — is in part an architectural answer to that acoustic brief, and in part a statement of intent about what the BBC was. Broadcasting House is Grade II* listed by Historic England.

  • Written by Gavin Paisley, director & model-maker at Chisel & Mouse based in East Sussex, England.
  • Last updated: 17-Feb-26.

Photograph by Briantist, in the public domain as per Wikimedia Commons.

Broadcasting House facade architectural scale model

Looking for a Broadcasting House architectural model?

This building is also available as a Broadcasting House architectural object, interpreted and crafted by Chisel & Mouse.

View the Broadcasting House architectural model

What is Broadcasting House?

Broadcasting House was commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation to serve as its first purpose-built headquarters. At the time of its construction, radio broadcasting was still a relatively new medium, and the building was designed to communicate stability, authority, and cultural importance.

Located in Portland Place, London, Broadcasting House was conceived not simply as an office building, but as a public landmark — a structure that embodied the BBC’s role in national life.

Facts panel

Grade II* listed former and current BBC headquarters at the junction of Portland Place and Langham Place, London (City of Westminster). Built 1930–32; extended and refurbished 2003–11.

  • Architect: George Val Myer (with F. J. Watson-Hart)
  • Civil engineer: M. T. Tudsbery (BBC)
  • Interior architects: Raymond McGrath (lead), with Serge Chermayeff and Wells Coates
  • Sculptor: Eric Gill (Prospero and Ariel; The Sower; Ariel bas-reliefs); Gilbert Bayes (additional panels)
  • Built: 1930–32; first broadcast 15 March 1932; officially opened 15 May 1932
  • Extension architect: MacCormac Jamieson Prichard (New Broadcasting House, completed 2011)
  • Location: Portland Place / Langham Place, London W1A 1AA
  • Architectural style: Art Deco / Modernist-Georgian monumental (Historic England's description)
  • Original use: BBC offices and broadcasting studios
  • Current use: BBC headquarters and broadcasting studios
  • Designation / status: Grade II* (Historic England listing 1265570)

Architectural style and design approach

Broadcasting House is a major example of British Art Deco architecture, combining modern construction techniques with classical massing and sculptural detail.

Key architectural characteristics include:

  • Strong, symmetrical composition
  • Monumental curved façade addressing the street
  • Simplified classical forms interpreted through Art Deco geometry
  • Emphasis on solidity and permanence

Unlike lighter or more decorative Art Deco buildings, Broadcasting House adopts a restrained, almost austere expression, reinforcing its institutional role.

Materials, façade, and sculptural elements

The building is faced in Portland stone, a material closely associated with London’s civic architecture. This choice places Broadcasting House in dialogue with nearby classical and governmental buildings, reinforcing its public significance.

One of the most distinctive features is the sculptural group above the main entrance, depicting Ariel and Prospero, characters from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The sculpture, by Eric Gill, symbolises the transmission of voices through the air — a poetic metaphor for radio broadcasting.

These sculptural elements blur the boundary between architecture and artwork, making Broadcasting House as much a cultural object as a functional building.

Ariel between Wisdom and Gaiety photograph by Mike Knell, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Broadcasting House as a symbol of public broadcasting

From its opening, Broadcasting House was intended to be seen and recognised. It presented broadcasting as:

  • trustworthy
  • centralised
  • national in scope

Over time, the building has become inseparable from the identity of the BBC itself, frequently appearing in media, photography, and popular culture as shorthand for British broadcasting.

The New Broadcasting House extension

In the early 21st century, Broadcasting House was expanded and refurbished with the addition of New Broadcasting House, integrating contemporary studio spaces while preserving the original Art Deco structure.

The extension reflects modern architectural language while maintaining visual continuity with the original building, demonstrating how historic architecture can evolve without losing its identity.

Photograph by Suicasmo, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Model-maker's lens

We modelled the principal Langham Place elevation — the curved south prow that gives Broadcasting House its distinctive ship-like presence on the street. It is the face the building turns to the city: the rounded clock tower, the stepped setbacks climbing to the upper floors, the rows of vertically proportioned casement windows, and Eric Gill's Prospero and Ariel anchoring the entrance below.

  • Focus — the curved south façade and entrance elevation: the clock tower, the stepped profile, and the Gill sculpture group above the bronze entrance doors.
  • Detail — the shallow modelling of the Portland stone surface, the vertical window ranges set into recessed bays, the porthole windows at attic level, and the layered setbacks that give the roofline its distinctive silhouette.
  • How it reads at small scale — the curved prow is instantly legible and the building has a remarkably self-contained quality: it reads as a complete, coherent object rather than a fragment of a longer street. The vertical emphasis and the rounded form carry well at reduced size.
  • How to display — the model rewards side-lighting, which picks out the shallow surface relief and the depth of the window reveals. The curved façade means it reads well from a slight angle as well as straight on.

As an object, Broadcasting House becomes a study in how a genuinely unusual engineering constraint — a building designed from the inside out around soundproofed studios — produces an architecture of unusual calm and density. That solidity is what makes it so satisfying to model.

View the Broadcasting House architectural model

Visiting Broadcasting House today

Broadcasting House remains an active broadcasting centre and can be visited as part of guided tours when available. Its prominent position on Portland Place makes it a familiar landmark for visitors exploring central London’s architectural history.

Frequently asked questions about Broadcasting House

Who designed Broadcasting House?

Broadcasting House was designed by George Val Myer (1883–1959), with Eric Gill responsible for the sculptural programme on the exterior. Val Myer worked with BBC engineer M.T. Tudsbery on the technical requirements of the building, which presented unusual challenges: the studios had to be acoustically isolated from street noise and from each other, leading to the distinctive arrangement of studios suspended within the building on independent structures.

When was Broadcasting House built?

The building was completed in 1932 and opened by King George V. It was the world's first purpose-built broadcast centre. A major eastward extension, designed by MacCormac Jamieson Prichard, was completed in 2012, doubling the size of the complex.

What architectural style is Broadcasting House?

Broadcasting House is primarily Art Deco in style, with monumental and classical influences. The curved Portland stone facade, the vertical emphasis of the tower, and Eric Gill's figurative sculptures give the building a formal civic character suited to its role as the headquarters of a national broadcaster.

Where is Broadcasting House located?

At the junction of Portland Place and Langham Place in Marylebone, central London — opposite the Langham Hotel and a short walk from Oxford Circus. The address is Portland Place, W1A 1AA.

What is the Ariel and Prospero sculpture?

The sculpture above the main entrance, carved by Eric Gill in 1932, depicts Prospero sending out Ariel — characters from Shakespeare's The Tempest — as a metaphor for broadcasting: the magician dispatching a spirit into the air. Gill carved ten further figures on the exterior of the building. The Prospero and Ariel group was controversial on completion, partly due to Gill's depiction of Ariel, which the BBC's director-general John Reith requested be altered before the building opened.

Is Broadcasting House still used by the BBC?

Yes, Broadcasting House remains a working BBC headquarters following extensive refurbishment and expansion.

Related architectural landmarks

You may also be interested in:

Sources / further reading