Located in the heart of London’s entertainment district, Leicester Square is famous for performance. It is surrounded by cinemas and theatres, home to many street performers and the site of London’s high profile premiers. An average 40 million people pass through the square every year.
1 Leicester square is situated at the north east corner, between the empire cinema and the Swiss centre. It is Art Deco in style, originally created in the 1930s for office use. Smith Caradoc-Hodgkins were familiar with the site having converted the office space into
‘Home’ nightclub some years before the MTV project.
Our brief was to develop live broadcast facilities with technical support and artists areas in the ground, first and second floors of the building.
The project was influenced by the atmosphere of Leicester square with its emphasis on performance and celebrity. When famous artistes were appearing in the studios, the square would be closed and a red carpet rolled out for their arrival in the tradition of the premier. The nature of a performance would dictate the style of décor required and the building had to be flexible enough to allow for regular changes to set design.
The broadcasting facilities were based on an existing MTV building in Times Square, New York and the performance area had to be visible from outside which meant we had to balance visual transparency with acoustic insulation, creating a triple glazed, soundproof window between the studio and the square.
A preoccupation of the design was the relationship between audience and performer. Each performance was designed to be viewed by two, if not three audiences: the studio audience, the audience in the square (viewing through the glass wall) and the audience at home, watching MTV. Very different kinds of performance are required for each of the three audiences and we had to balance the demands of each: visual, acoustic and atmospheric. The building had to function as both an introverted and an extroverted space, where artists could simultaneously perform and record.
We created a direct structure of concrete and metal, lining the walls with combinations of highly absorbent and highly reflective cladding material. We constructed sculpted walls and sloped walls and ceilings, disallowing 90 degree angles in order to maximise sound production.
We had to overcome major technical difficulties in this conversion of early twentieth century office space into a 21st century performance centre and the completed project was considered a great aesthetic and technical success.
‘Smith Caradoc- Hodgkins Architects tackled the project with enthusiasm, commitment and skill. I and other members of the client body found them approachable, helpful and willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve success.”- Mick Perry, Low Profile Productions Limited, on the MTV Project.