Pacific Quay

Pacific Quay is an area south of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. It is located at the former Plantation Quay and Princes' Dock Basin. The Princes' Dock Basin was the largest on the River Clyde when it was opened by the Clyde Navigation Trust in 1900. It ceased to be used as a commercial dock by the Clyde Port Authority in the 1970s as the volume of Shipping using the Upper Clyde declined with the onset of containerization. The site was later used for the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988. The former electric generating station and pumping house, "Four Winds" which was used to pump water between the rotundas and generate power for the electric cranes still stands and is now home to a consultant engineers and radio station. The name 'Pacific Quay' has no historical significance, as it was created simply as a marketing enterprise following the land being reclaimed for commercial use after the Garden Festival closure. It did not reflect the site as a departure point for ships bound for the Pacific rim.

BBC Pacific Quay

BBC Pacific Quay is BBC Scotland's television and radio studio complex at Pacific Quay, Glasgow, Scotland. Opened by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown in August 2007, the studios are home to BBC Scotland's television, radio and online services and the headquarters of the BBC in Scotland.

The studios are located adjacent to the Glasgow Science Centre, across the river from the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and adjacent to the studios of commercial broadcaster STV. The new building is one of the most modern, state of the art, digital broadcasting facilities in the world, complete with the BBC's first HD-capable newsroom.

The studio also houses 6 radio studios used for BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and other radio stations.

The building

The £72m project on the River Clyde in Glasgow was designed by David Chipperfield Architects but Keppie Architects took control in late 2004. It is home to the biggest TV recording space to be built in Scotland and has an area of 782 m² (8,420 sq ft) with a new retractable bleacher seating for 320 audience members, although the studio can sit a maximum audience of 338 people.