Coatings transforming the former BBC centre

The iconic BBC TV studios site at White City in West London, with its famous curved glass frontage, closed in 2013 when staff moved to Broadcasting House.

Since then, work has started on the transformation of the former studios and the surrounding area: a 145-acre location with an estimated £8bn of investment. Once complete it will provide more than 5000 homes, an academic campus, media village and shopping facilities.

Sherwin-Williams was called on by contractor Bourne Construction Engineering to assist with the refurbishment of the famous central curved area, known as Plot B.

Bourne was constructing penthouse structures on the top of the existing building, where steel was the choice of material due to the quick installation programme and its light weight. The project needed to be self-sufficient, with no access to tower cranes other than for off-loading. Instead, mini cranes, known as spider cranes, were used and five new large balconies were constructed on the existing structure for some of the refurbishment elements.

The steelwork required a 90min fire protection period due to its location and nature of the building’s use. The Firetex FX6000 intumescent paint system was selected as a result.