Behind the Scenes TV-am HQ, a postmodern media house?

The essay selects the TV-am headquarters by Terry Farrell as the subject of the case study, utilizing it to both challenge and complement the prevailing visual bias in the research of postmodern architecture. By incorporating the technical aspect into the examination of the building, following a chronological order, it unveils its profound link to the 1980s neoliberal UK. The project's inception offers technical and organizational insights that contribute to the notion of ad-hocism put forth by Charles Jencks, extending beyond semiotics and visual coding. In its operational phase, the building functions as a dialectical mixer and filter, mediating between the audience and the turbulent social reality. This challenges the established discourse by its architect and media researchers, which asserts it as a fully-exhibited media machine. The subsequent transformation of the building presents an intriguing tension between the evolved demands of the building as a functional machine and a fixed visual monument. This situation provides an opportunity to reconsider the building as a realistic structure in Federic Jameson’s terms, while advocating for the imperative inclusion of the technical aspect in the study of postmodern architecture.