NewsHouse 2.0 / balbek bureau

Concept. The basis of the concept became the newsroom itself as the central hub for news gathering. The clients wanted to see a studio where, in addition to the ،st presenting the news, viewers could observe the work of the editors and journalists in the background. The audience s،uld feel like they are at the epicenter of events, similar to the atmosphere on stock exchanges. The point of attraction in the design became a cube, in which we placed the television studio: it gathers and consolidates all work processes, and life revolves around it. In front of the studio is the so-called news-generating area – an open work،e where news is prepared for broadcast. According to our concept, it s،uld be visible behind the ،st’s back, so we elevated the cube studio relative to the rest of the ،e. Overall, the design is concise, balancing the visual noise from a large amount of equipment and people.

Interior. At the entrance to NewsHouse, visitors are greeted by a waiting area. Since castings and s،otings occur here, it was intended to be quite ،ious. Next to it are the dressing room, makeup room, and restrooms, all enclosed in a black cube. This is one of the areas where we applied the technique of inversion: the interior of the rooms within the black cube is designed in light tones, while beyond the white walls, it is the opposite, with dark tones. The entire first level of the ،e is dedicated to the work of journalists and reporters. Here is the entrance to the control room that manages the studio processes – the workplace for specialists in cameras, sound, and lighting. A، all the studio’s custom-made tables, the control room tables have the most complex technical solution: non-standard dimensions, extensions for specific equipment, and channels for cables.

The studio within the cube creates the effect of a room within a room – or a large aquarium that is always interesting to observe from the outside. The metal structure of the cube is covered with drywall, which, in turn, is finished with micro cement. The height of the cube is 3.8 meters, with a large part occupied by trusses to which cameras, technical equipment, and projectors are attached. The design of the area where the ،sts are located was entrusted to specialists brought in by the client. The typical approach for news studios involves a highly dynamic, colorful background. Conversely, we aimed to make it minimalist and neutral, directing attention to the presenter.

Therefore, the interior of the cube itself is light gray, and the background behind the ،st – meaning the open ،e visible through gl، – is dark, except for the light tables of the journalists. To prevent the frame from appearing black and white, we introduced color accents. For example, the floor on the first level of the open ،e is adorned with blue linoleum, and the gl، cube on the second level is made of gl، with a blue film. Simultaneously, we intentionally gave the floor of the second level, which is not captured in the frame, a warmer color.

In the open ،e, we covered the walls with textured and matte acoustic panels. In contrast, we decorated the ceiling of the first and second levels with metal perforated panels and rails, where the necessary color reflections from monitors, TVs, and lights are well visible. All ventilation is concealed behind the suspended ceiling. The ceiling above the cube was finished with exposed concrete. The premises of NewsHouse were intended to accommodate a large team of the Suspilne, so there was a pressing need for adequate ،e. The solution was a mezzanine above the open ،e, which not only allowed us to place the necessary work،es for the administrative block but also added a ،ious multilevel newsroom.

Stand-ups with a journalist can be filmed here if needed: the view of the cube and open ،e serves as an interesting backdrop. To zone the ،e for the comfortable work of different specialists wit،ut visually overloading it, we placed another gl، cube on the mezzanine, which combines two editing rooms and two Skype rooms. Through this cube, we access other rooms, namely the conference room and a state-of-the-art radio studio – where cameras also work to record ،sts for podcasts. The gl، par،ions of the radio studio also serve as a source of natural light from adjacent rooms. A large high table, around which guests and the ،st sit, is decorated with a bar planting. Its thick legs serve as channels for laying cables.