2024-11-24T01:15:23-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150040198/could-landscrapers-like-google-s-new-london-hq-represent-a-shift-in-workplace-design Alexander Walter 2017-12-05T14:00:00-05:00 >2024-03-15T01:45:58-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/ca/cadd92h5i2qvugc2.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Last month, London mayor Sadiq Khan, joined by a trio of Google executives, broke ground on the site of Google&rsquo;s new campus in the city&rsquo;s King&rsquo;s Cross district. [...] The property has been dubbed a &ldquo;landscraper,&rdquo; a building as long and as horizontal as skyscrapers are tall and vertical, and it could represent a shift in the very shape of the places where people work. Google&rsquo;s London flagship will be 1,082 feet long, which is 66 feet longer than The Shard, London&rsquo;s tallest building, is high.</p></em><br /><br /><p><em>Quartz</em>' article features input from American futurist, Amy Webb, who predicts a bright future for landscrapers &mdash;&nbsp;not only in London.</p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/8d/8dhjyiyiplebt79r.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=1028" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/8d/8dhjyiyiplebt79r.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Image courtesy of Google.</figcaption></figure><p>More about the new&nbsp;<a href="https://archinect.com/heatherwick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Heatherwick Studio</a> + <a href="https://archinect.com/firms/cover/39902/big-bjarke-ingels-group" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BIG</a>-designed&nbsp;<a href="https://archinect.com/firms/cover/52478217/google-inc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google</a> London HQ <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150010473/a-surprisingly-classical-look-for-google-s-london-hq-from-heatherwick-studio-big" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> https://archinect.com/news/article/150010473/a-surprisingly-classical-look-for-google-s-london-hq-from-heatherwick-studio-big Julia Ingalls 2017-06-01T20:14:00-04:00 >2018-01-30T06:16:04-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/gy/gy1kioz352vg93yp.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Back in 2015, the 11-storey, <a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/69207772allford-hall-monaghan-morris-ahmm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AHMN</a>-designed scheme for Google's headquarters was deemed "too boring" by Google CEO Larry Page. Heatherwick Studio and BIG were brought in to add some pizazz to what was an admittedly fairly straightforward, boxy design. Today's freshly unveiled renderings show a more visually nuanced building than their predecessor, but the structure does not push design boundaries in the overt way that many associate with BIG and Heatherwick.</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/3q/3qvxuj46lu23axh6.jpg"></p><p>Indeed, the abundance of bordered, angled bay windows creates the effect of a colonnade; viewed from the exterior, the building resembles a kind of Parthenon mash-up. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a roof garden quickly place the building in its modern context, but this is a building that takes pains to join a conversation, not start one.</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/9u/9uqas5swhmzgzx3x.jpg"></p><p>Thomas Heatherwick explained in a statement that "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...</p>