[1] Opened by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 20 September 2007, the building was designed by architect David Chipperfield to feature an all glass facade which would change throughout the day, as well as different seasons and from various vantage points from across Pacific Quay.

[2] Within the building internally, a "stepped street" design rises throughout the entire length of BBC Pacific Quay.

Live music segments, entitled The Quay Sessions are recorded and produced via a pop-up studio located in the reception area of the building.

Situated within an "exposed area of land", architectural firm responsible for its design, David Chipperfield Architects, said that the building "needed to assert its own sense of place and satisfy the brief that called for an enclosed yet publicly accessible building which would allow visibility of the BBC at work while maintaining tight security".

[17][18][19] The central feature of the complex is used to record interviews, host political programming and transmit webcasts such as Authors Live.

Productions to be filmed at BBC Pacific Quay include The Weakest Link, Mrs Browns Boys, Impossible, Unbeatable, Get Set Galactic, The Hit List, Picture Slam, Richard Osman's House of Games, Catch Point, Sex Rated and Pop Master for Channel 4.