Google’s new London headquarters is a 330 metre-long groundscraper, with a facade that features extensive large format glazing.

Google’s first new headquarters outside of the US will be a purpose-built, mixed-use building on a 67-acre site adjacent to London’s King’s Cross train station. The 11-storey building will be approximately 330 metres long, with a total floor area of 870,000 square feet to house 7,000 employees. The scheme includes a 25-metre swimming pool, indoor sports hall, and a landscaped terrace running along the entire roof.

Eckersley O’Callaghan is engineering all large format glass elements on the project, , along with the timber retail facades and retail structures at ground level, which utilise CLT structures and envelopes and a kit-of-parts glazing system to accommodate different tenants.

The facade comprises triple-height, 10-metre-tall glazing panels. The retail spaces at ground level are glazed with six-metre-tall panels with feature curvature. Other glass elements include balustrades and a skylight.

The tightly constrained site requires a strategy to install the large format glazing in close proximity to the railway tracks. Another key design requirement is to avoid glare which would be dangerous for train drivers. To meet this criteria, we have analysed the orientation of the glass panels, selecting materials and coatings to reduce reflectivity.

Location
King’s Cross, London

Client
Google

Architects
BIG | Heatherwick Studio