It has not been a long time since Google revealed its uniquely futuristic solar powered headquarters in Mountain View, California. The designers behind the Mountain View headquarters were Bjarke Ingels Group and Heatherwick Studio, and same have gathered together again for another one of Google’s campuses, in King’s Cross, London. The firms have submitted the plans to the local council, and if approved, the construction is scheduled to begin in 2018.
The plans outline an 11 story building, with a floor space of 1 million square feet (92,903 square meters). Google will only occupy 65 percent of the campus, renting out the rest of free space.
Spread over a length of at least 310 m (1,017 feet), the building is referred to as a “landscraper” by the media. The design is smooth as opposed to the Mountain View building, as the Heatherwick Studio’s press release says the HQ is meant to have a “natural theme.”
The renders of the building show a massive green roof, that looks like a park. The HQ will have a space for 686 bicycles and only four parking spaces. It features motorized timber blinds that will keep out the sunlight to reduce the solar heat gain while a roof based solar panel array minimizes the electricity it draws from the grid. Talking about a Google campus, we can certainly hope for it to have some perks for its employees, and that includes exercise facilities and definitely a swimming pool.
The co-designer of the campus, Thomas Heatherwick commented, “As my home and the home of my studio for more than 15 years, I have a close relationship with King’s Cross. 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.”
