We recently visited the Channel 4 headquarters in London to film a new episode for the OpenFace MicroMaster. Cameras in hand, moving around the building, looking for the story – and as always, ending up zooming in on the details, actually we only have video footage of the entire building, so we can only share pictures of the details.
But, that is where it gets interesting.
What makes this project special is that nothing has been “added”. No redesign, no new layer. The façade has been renewed almost one-to-one. Same system, same expression – but brought back to today’s standards.
The building, originally designed by Richard Rogers, is a classic piece of 90s high-tech architecture. A suspended, curved glass façade carried by a cable net structure, working together with the iconic red steel.
The intervention sits behind the scenes. The façade was carefully dismantled, checked, cleaned, partially reused and reassembled. New glass, improved performance – but without changing the appearance. It still looks exactly like it should.
And that is why the details matter.
Slender cables, precise stainless steel nodes, and point fixings that quietly do all the work. Everything is about millimetres. About tolerances. About making a complex system look effortless.
Nothing new—but everything sharp again.
We will meet Robert Capel from Octatube soon to capture the full story. The full video will be released as part of the OpenFace MicroMaster. For now, just a small appreciation of what it means to truly understand a façade – and bring it back to life.
Project: Channel 4 Headquarters, London
Original design: Richard Rogers Partnership
Refurbishment: Octatube in collaboration with Arup
Filming: TU Delft – OpenFace
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