Carlton TV Headquarters, London
1998-1999

The brief for this fit-out project was to design a visually exciting and challenging interior for a new national headquarters for Carlton Television. The requirement was to house 600-700 staff including corporate and business facilities, programme makers and sales departments, augmented by some broadcasting and scheduling services and post-production facilities and a retail unit on the ground floor. Carlton Television acquired a lease on the newly-constructed building, which comprised 100,000 sq. ft., over 8 floors.

A major feature of the design is a 'street' that runs from the front to the back of the building at every level, and all 'streets' are connected by a new accommodation staircase. The effect is an improvement in internal circulation whilst enhancing the interaction between departments on separate floors. The staircase reinforces the concept of the 'street' as a circulation spine, which is the focus of communal activities on each floor.

At each level the 'street' contains a mix of central and ancillary support activities. The use of shared facilities including vending and café areas, informal meeting spaces, xerox/fax and postal points and telephone booths contributes to the community feel of these areas. By extracting these non-desk based activities from the office floor and concentrating them within the 'street', a more peaceful environment can be achieved in the open plan seating areas that are away from the street.