Film and music moguls including Hans Zimmer want to turn historic site into UK鈥檚 top post-production campus
Stiff & Trevillion has unveiled the first detailed images of its plans to overhaul the BBC鈥檚 Maida Vale Studios for a group of film and music heavyweights including Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.
The practice has lodged a planning application for the scheme with Westminster council for MVS Partnership, a partnership between Zimmer, his long-time business partner Steven Kofsky and film producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, co-chairs of Working Title Films, the UK鈥檚 biggest film production company.
The quartet said they want to transform the north west London site into 鈥渢he premier post-production campus for British film, tv and music鈥� once the BBC moves its music recording operations to its new Allies & Morrison-designed studio at East Bank in Stratford.
Maida Vale Studios has been the home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 1934 and has been used to record performances by artists including the Beatles, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Amy Winehouse, Beyonce and Adele.
But the 150m-long building, originally built in 1909 as an ice rink and now grade II-listed, has long been under threat of closure by the BBC due to its high maintenance costs and location in a residential area.
In 2023, the broadcaster sold the site for a reported 拢10.5m to MVS Partnership, which appointed Stiff & Trevillion as lead architect earlier this year.
Application documents validated by Westminster council last week propose a 鈥渟ensitive retention, adaptation and restoration鈥� of the existing building which would see its roof replaced, new interior floors introduced and new entrances added.
A large basement would also be excavated beneath the southern wing of the site to create additional space for a post production hub for film and music.
The 鈥榓udio鈥� wing of the building would house three refurbished studio spaces, a new rock and roll recording studio, 30 music rooms, five composer suites and a restaurant with an external terrace.
The 鈥榲isual鈥� wing of the site would contain a dubbing suite, dubbing stages, a sound effect studio, editing suites, a screening room and a series of flexible work and breakout spaces.
Stiff & Trevillion said the vision for the scheme is to 鈥渟eamlessly blend the storied legacy of recording and sound on the site with the evolving demands of today鈥檚 creative industries鈥�.
鈥淲e envision a state-of-the-art facility that houses all stages of the music recording and post production process under one roof, setting new benchmarks for excellence in British film and music post-production, fostering the creation of British jobs, driving innovation, and catalysing industry investment,鈥� the practice said.
The project team also includes Exigere on costs, Arup as structural and services engineer, DP9 on planning, The Townscape Consultancy on heritage, Jonathan Cook Landscape as landscape architect and GIA on daylight.
Zimmer has twice won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Lion King and the 2021 remake of Dune. His other credits include Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception, Interstellar and the Dark Knight Trilogy.
Working Title Films, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, is the film studio behind Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Darkest Hour and many films made by the Coen brothers.
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