BBC Studioworks opens facility at historic Kelvin Hall

BBC Studioworks, a for-profit arm of the BBC that provides television studio and production facility rentals and a variety of post-production services has officially open a new studio facility, set in the heart of Glasgow’s West End in the iconic Kelvin Hall.

Co-funded by the Scottish government, through Screen Scotland and Glasgow City Council, the facility is a major boost to Scotland’s capacity to produce multi-genre TV productions and fuels the growth of Scotland’s creative workforce.

Today sees BBC Studioworks facilitate STV Studios as its first client to produce a new program in the facility, the second series of BBC One’s quiz show, “Bridge of Lies.”

With three recordings per day, the three-week studio residency will comprise 25 daytime episodes and an additional eight celebrity episodes for primetime. Other production titles have also confirmed residencies and will be announced in the near future.

BBC Studioworks has invested in the latest technology for Kelvin Hall, while ensuring consistency with its other studios and the ability to easily adapt as technology continues to evolve. As well as installing HD facilities to ensure the best possible picture quality, Kelvin Hall features high-quality audio equipment for pristine broadcast-grade sound. Resilient internet connectivity together with hardwired and radio communication systems ensures an enhanced level of robustness in production communications, user flexibility and performance.

Covering a footprint of 10,500 sq. ft, Kelvin Hall can accommodate both long-term residencies and spot bookings for a wide range of entertainment shows across multiple genres. The sound and lighting galleries are the largest that BBC Studioworks has built across its entire U.K. footprint.

Sustainability has been a key driver in the studio design.

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As part of a wider redevelopment initiative at the site, it repurposes a previously derelict section of a historically important building. The studio has been designed without dimmers to support LED and low energy lighting technology.

The reduced heat generated by the low energy lighting has enabled the use of air-source heat pump technology for heating and cooling, and the ventilation plant has class-leading efficiency using heat recovery systems. The studio will reduce the carbon footprint of local TV production and fuel the growth of the sector by boosting local employment.

Studioworks operates several other similar facilities across the country.

Photos courtesy of BBC.