From the archives in 2010

In this week’s issue (6 February) of Building, and you’ll find Paul Greeves, director of workplace and safety at the BBC, responding to criticism from the National Audit Office for the £273m cost of the management of its estate - particularly the running costs of Broadcasting House in central London. The BBC building has come under scrutiny from the NAO in the past; in 2010 there were concerns of cost overruns on its renovation. That year Building headed down to the site while renovation was still taking place, where members of the BBC’s property team explained what was being done to bring the project within budget, and to display latest on-site developments. Reporting from the site Building’s Emily Wright wrote: “The sheer scale of the development is the first thing that hits you as you enter the site. By 2012, the entire Broadcasting House development will cover 80,000m2, making it one of the largest live digital broadcast centres in the world. Today alone there are 1,000 workers on site over eight floors - the ninth will be plant space. The floors have been built around a 43m high, 8.4m wide atrium topped with a glass roof. A striking helical staircase will connect the basement’s second level to level two. Because of the double-height space, this will effectively be the first floor.”