The Offices

The Offices

On each of the seven office floors the accommodation includes a panelled committee room for departmental meetings. On the third floor its place is taken by the official Board Room, in which the Governors of the B.B.C. meet. Next to it on the south is the office of the Chairman, while that of the Director-General is in the centre of the south front facing down Upper Regent Street, with a balcony opening on to it. These offices and those of other senior officials are uniformly panelled in light oak, and are provided with furniture selected by the designers of the decoration of the studios. The offices themselves are so arranged that the various branches of the organisation are, as far as possible, accommodated on separate floors; the first floor being devoted to the larger administrative offices, such as the General Office (where most of the typing is done); the Registry (where the post is sorted and files are kept); and the internal printing and duplicating rooms. The General Office in particular is a big sunny office arranged on modern lines. 

Third Floor

Diagram of the third floor
A room with alcoves - one bright - desks and chairs and a large clock
58 ❧ Studio 3E for Religious Services, looking toward the central recess, lighted so as to produce an effect of infinite distance. On secular occasions the recess contains a vase of flowers; for religious services the shadow of a cross is projected on to the white background.

59 ❧ Statue of St. George, which occupies a niche to the left of the grand piano in the picture above. It is the work of Mr. Vernon Hill.

A tall room with a piano, desk and many chairs
60 ❧ Studio 3E, looking towards the balcony. The table in the right foreground is for the use of choirs engaged in the services. Photograph by Arthur Gill.
A tall empty room
61 ❧ Studio 3A, where the Children's Hour is conducted. The window at the top is that of the Silence Room shown later.
A cozy room with a curtained window, rugs, a desk and a mantleshelf.
62 ❧ Studio 3B, for Talks.
A colour picture of a cozy carpeted room with a bookcase, a curtained window, a round table and two easy chairs
63 ❧ Studio 3D, for Talks.
A room with a dummy fireplace, bookcases, ornaments and a round table with a microphone and a book stand
64 ❧ Another view. There are three Talks Studios; this one is designed to give the talker the feeling of being in a study or library. Note the picture of George Washington over the fireplace, indicating the use of this studio for some of the special talks to America. The chair used in this studio is one in which the late Mr. Arnold Bennett wrote many of his works. The Colour Plate shows another view, that looking towards the 'window'.
A curtained room with a rug, a sofa, a chair, a standard lamp and a free-standing ashtray
65 ❧ The Third Floor Waiting Room Lounge, attached to the Talks Studios.
A small room with a chair, a desk and a microphone
66 ❧ The Silence Room, attached to Studio 3A, where announcements can be made (e.g. during a change of programme) without the necessity of enforcing silence in the studio.
A office with a fitted desk with two telephones surrounded by 5 chairs in 3 different styles
67 ❧ The Chairman's Office.
A room with wooden walls, a fireplace and an ornate desk with one commanding chair and one basic chair
68 ❧ The Director-General's Office.
A busy office with men and women working around double-sided desks
69 ❧ One of the Accounts Offices.
1932 // THIS IS TRANSDIFFUSION