Al Jazeera Media Network UK Headquarters

Al Jazeera Media Network’s UK headquarters is located on Level 16 of The Shard. The design is a collaboration between Al Jazeera’s creative and technology team and John McAslan + Partners, as interior designers of the office, together with Veech X Veech, as designers of the broadcast news studio and adjacent newsroom.

The project unusually integrates the broadcast studio and office space within an open plan 45-person newsroom workspace. This technologically advanced studio has set a new benchmark for global TV studio design, creating a pre-eminent broadcast production facility. The new day-lit studio optimises the London skyline, breaking the trend of the traditional ‘black box’ studio space. Technical rooms wrap around the central core, with meeting rooms, open-plan work spaces and studios arranged around the perimeter. The innovative reception space features an interactive media wall displaying Al Jazeera’s current programmes.

Sinuous glazed walls and bespoke curved desks contrast with the fractured geometry of the base build. The curved lines of the internal walls and the moulded GRG ceiling encourage movement around the floor, with partitions and ceiling acting as wayfinding devices.

Designing for broadcast is highly specialised and requires a precise design process. Since the perspective of the set changes when viewed through the camera lens, the team used the camera as an additional design tool. An extensive process of digital 3D modeling and 1:1 mockups tested the perspective composition to create a strong on-air impact, framing the panoramic skyline view.

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'This exciting project challenges the way news is made and required the design team to adopt a radical approach, integrating the broadcast studio into the office space within an open-plan setting. The result is the most technologically advanced global production facility anywhere in the world.'

Patrick Bedeau, Al Jazeera Global Art Director