The building showcases works of art, most prominently the statues of Prospero and Ariel (from Shakespeare's The Tempest) by Eric Gill.
Their choice was fitting since Prospero was a magician and scholar, and Ariel a spirit of the air, in which radio waves travel.
There was, reportedly, controversy over some features of the statues when built and they were said to have been modified.
They were reported to have been sculpted by Gill as God and Man, rather than Prospero and Ariel, and that there is a small carved picture of a beautiful girl on the back of Prospero.
Additional carvings of Ariel are on the exterior in many bas-reliefs, some by Gill, others by Gilbert Bayes.
The reception area contains a statue of 'The sower' by Gill.

Several works of art were commissioned by the BBC for the refurbishment of Broadcasting House, at an overall cost of more than £4 million.
Among these is World, a pavement artwork by the Canadian-born architect and artist Mark Pimlott.
According to the BBC, the work "reflects the global dimension of the BBC’s broadcasting and consists of over 750 stone flags inscribed with place names from around the world, as well as those from history, mythology and fantasy.
The artwork is enhanced by elegant steel lines of longitude and latitude, a subtle scheme of small embedded lights and some audio installation linked to key output from the World Service."

On the roof of the John Peel wing, mirroring the radio mast, is Breathing, a cone-shaped glass structure reaching into the sky to the same height as the mast.
It was sculpted by Jaume Plensa as a memorial to journalists killed in the line of duty.
It includes words from a poem by James Fenton and is illuminated day and night.
At 10 pm daily, in line with the BBC News at Ten, a column of light shines 900 metres (3000') into the sky.
It was officially unveiled on 16 June 2008 by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
The building showcases works of art, most prominently the statues of Prospero and Ariel (from Shakespeare's The Tempest) by Eric Gill. Their choice was fitting since Prospero was a magician and scholar, and Ariel a spirit of the air, in which radio waves travel. There was, reportedly, controversy over some features of the statues when built and they were said to have been modified. They were reported to have been sculpted by Gill as God and Man, rather than Prospero and Ariel, and that there is a small carved picture of a beautiful girl on the back of Prospero. Additional carvings of Ariel are on the exterior in many bas-reliefs, some by Gill, others by Gilbert Bayes. The reception area contains a statue of 'The sower' by Gill.
Several works of art were commissioned by the BBC for the refurbishment of Broadcasting House, at an overall cost of more than £4 million. Among these is World, a pavement artwork by the Canadian-born architect and artist Mark Pimlott. According to the BBC, the work "reflects the global dimension of the BBC’s broadcasting and consists of over 750 stone flags inscribed with place names from around the world, as well as those from history, mythology and fantasy. The artwork is enhanced by elegant steel lines of longitude and latitude, a subtle scheme of small embedded lights and some audio installation linked to key output from the World Service."
On the roof of the John Peel wing, mirroring the radio mast, is Breathing, a cone-shaped glass structure reaching into the sky to the same height as the mast. It was sculpted by Jaume Plensa as a memorial to journalists killed in the line of duty. It includes words from a poem by James Fenton and is illuminated day and night. At 10 pm daily, in line with the BBC News at Ten, a column of light shines 900 metres (3000') into the sky. It was officially unveiled on 16 June 2008 by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Broadcasting House