Fostered

Expert chums have pointed out to me that the proposed new BBC Wales headquarters, on the site of Cardiff Bus Station, means that, finally, thirty years after her first try, Auntie will get a Norman Foster building.

Foster and Partners are the architects hired by Rightacres for the Cardiff development, though I'm not sure how much the good Lord is directly involved.

Back in 1982, BBC Chairman Lord George Howard brought Norman, (then just plain Mr, 47 and with a taste for helicopters) into the BBC to plan a new radio centre and HQ on the site of the Langham Hotel. The building had been used by the Army in World War II and suffered bomb damage; the BBC rented after the war, and secured the freehold for an undisclosed price in 1965. The Foster design was fairly well detailed before a new chairman came along, Stuart Young. He decided to cancel the project and sell the freehold, for an estimated £26m to Ladbroke Hotels, later owners of the Hilton brand. The BBC then bought the White City site - spookily for £26m. .

This is a Foster image of how his building might have looked, viewed down Portland Place.