Google Expanding (Updated with Renderings)
John Hill
26. February 2015
Photo: The current Googleplex in Mountain View as seen via Google Street View
The New York Times is reporting that Google has hired the offices of Thomas Heatherwick and Bjarke Ingels for a proposed new headquarters in Mountain View, California.
According to the article in the Times, the joint design consists of "a series of canopylike buildings ... [and] will include bike and pedestrian paths." Further, their design "is one of several development proposals from various companies expected to be submitted to the city on Friday, [27 February]."
Both superstar architects are known for creative responses to varied commissions, though common ground, physical at least, can be found in the Shanghai Expo 2010. Heatherwick Studio designed the UK Pavilion, which came to be known as the "Seed Cathedral" for the 250,000 seeds cast into 60,000 acrylic prongs protruding from the center. Ingels' firm, BIG, shipped the Little Mermaid sculpture from Copenhagen to Shanghai as a centerpiece for the swirling, bike-friendly Danish Pavilion.
We will share the designs for the proposed Googleplex as they are made available.
Heatherwick Studio: UK Pavilion, Shanghai Expo 2010 (Photo: Iwan Baan)
BIG: Danish Pavilion, Shanghai Expo 2010 (Photo: Iwan Baan)
Update: Here is a video with Bjarke Ingels, Thomas Heatherwick and Google's Dave Radcliffe speaking about the proposed campus, followed by renderings of the BIG/Heatherwick's "canopied campus," courtesy of the Silicon Valley Business Journal.