Construction is wrapping up on Google’s upcoming office in King’s Cross, London, designed by BIG and Heatherwick Studio. The 11-storey building, known as a landscraper due to its 330-meter length, is slated for completion later this year and will become Google’s first wholly-owned space outside the USA.
The building features a slatted facade of glass and Accoya, a type of modified pine wood, and boasts landscaped rooftop terraces that will encircle a running track. According to Thomas Heatherwick, the building is designed as “a piece of infrastructure,” nodding to its surroundings in King’s Cross, an area known for its diverse building types and spaces.
“The area is a fascinating collision of diverse building types and spaces, and I can’t help but love this mix of massive railway stations, roads, canals and other infrastructure all layered up into the most connected point in London,” said Heatherwick. “Influenced by these surroundings, we have treated this new building for Google like a piece of infrastructure too, made from a family of interchangeable elements which ensure that the building and its workspace will stay flexible for years to come.”
Bjarke Ingels added, “Our design for the new Google place at King’s Cross is rooted in the local character of the area, taking advantage of the contextually defined building envelope while creating continuously cascading work environments that will connect Googlers across multiple floors.”
The building will house 7,000 Google employees over 60,386 square meters, featuring offices, a swimming pool, sports facilities, cafes, and ground-level shops.
Image Courtesy: Dezeen
