The Elgood Universal Television Studio Floor
The finished television studio floor
The finished television studio floor
Introduction
The Financial Times required a high performance television studio floor for its in house broadcasting facility at New Bracken House, just off Friday Street in the City of London. Recommended by a broadcasting consultant, Elgood Industrial Flooring was employed by main contractor McLaren to convert a rough finished concrete slab into a 120 m² super flat Universal Television Studio Floor. The project demanded a precision engineered surface capable of full multi camera tracking, delivered to programme within a busy city centre fit out.
Background
New Bracken House provides a modern base for the Financial Times, combining newsroom spaces with dedicated broadcast facilities. As the FT expanded its video and digital output, the studio floor became a critical part of the production environment, directly affecting camera movement, set work and on screen quality.
McLaren, the main contractor for the project, needed a specialist studio flooring partner who could deliver a proven, broadcast grade solution. Elgood Industrial Flooring brought more than 40 years of specialist television studio floor experience to the scheme, with its Universal Television Studio Floor System already in use at major broadcasters and corporate studios across the UK. The aim was to give the Financial Times a robust, long term studio floor that would integrate seamlessly into the wider office and technical fit out.
The Challenge
The Financial Times studio floor project needed to address several key challenges:
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Converting a rough finished concrete slab into a super flat operating surface suitable for full multi camera tracking
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Achieving flatness tolerances far beyond SR1, so camera pedestals could move smoothly anywhere on the 120 m² studio floor
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Preparing the slab using clean, controlled methods that would provide an excellent mechanical key for the new system
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Coordinating installation with McLaren’s fit out programme in a central London office building
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Providing effective temporary protection once the studio floor had been installed, as other trades continued to work in the space
The Solution
Elgood Industrial Flooring designed and installed a complete Universal Television Studio Floor system for the Financial Times studio.
Key elements of the solution included:
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Mechanical preparation of the concrete slab
The rough finished concrete was mechanically prepared using vacuum contained diamond grinding. This process removed surface irregularities and contamination while creating a clean, textured key for the new studio floor build up, with dust kept under control inside the building. -
Installation of studio floor fixings
After preparation, Elgood’s own studio floor fixings were installed to anchor the Universal Television Studio Floor System securely to the slab. These fixings form an integral part of the system, helping to deliver the stability and longevity required in a broadcast environment. -
Universal Television Studio Floor, average 30 mm build
Elgood installed its Universal Television Studio Floor at an average thickness of 30 mm across the 120 m² area. The system was laid and levelled to achieve a super flat surface, specifically engineered to support smooth multi camera pedestal tracking and modern HD production requirements. -
Programme coordination and protection
Elgood worked closely with McLaren to meet the target date for studio floor installation within the overall fit out programme. As the building and wider fit out works were not yet complete, Elgood also provided suitable protection to safeguard the finished studio floor while other trades continued to work around it.
All elements of the studio floor system were manufactured and installed by Elgood’s own small, full time in house team, ensuring consistent workmanship and a single point of responsibility from preparation through to handover.
Outcome
The completed Financial Times studio floor at New Bracken House has delivered a reliable, broadcast ready platform at the heart of the FT’s City of London headquarters:
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A 120 m² Universal Television Studio Floor with super flat tolerances, supporting full multi camera tracking across the entire operating surface
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A robust studio grade floor system installed over a properly prepared, diamond ground slab for long term performance
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A surface free from undulations and irregularities that would compromise camera movement or on screen presentation
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A floor installed to programme and protected during subsequent fit out activities, avoiding damage and rework
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A British manufactured and installed studio floor system from a specialist contractor with decades of experience in television and corporate studios
By transforming the original rough slab into a precision laid Universal Television Studio Floor, Elgood Industrial Flooring has provided the Financial Times with a dependable, professional quality studio floor that supports its ongoing broadcast and digital journalism.
