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A first look at Google’s planned new London HQ

AHMM, Google’s London architects, have submitted plans for Google’s proposed new $1.6b London HQ, to be built alongside St Pancras International station which serves as the Eurostar terminus for high-speed rail services to Paris, Brussels and Lille. Google bought the 2.4-acre plot back in January.

The artist impressions of the building look surprisingly conservative given the client and a city that has approved some pretty funky buildings, among them the Gherkin and the Shard, though AHMM’s description of the vision for the building does make it sound more interesting than it appears.

Google’s new workplace sits upon a retail plinth punctuated by three generous light filled volumes. These entrance halls serve up and into a looped three dimensional promenade that wraps its way along, around, through and up the building’s six to ten office floors, connecting cycling ramps, cores, workplaces, major shared amenities and a large roof garden in an easy and enjoyable journey that encourages encounter.

More photos below … 

The development will be over 1,000 feet long and a modest 11 stories high, connecting the station to the nearby waterside developments alongside Regent’s Canal. In line with Google’s environmental credentials, it is intended to achieve the highest possible scores in the Breeam and Leeds ratings for environmental friendliness.

Assuming the plans are approved, work will start next year and will be fully completed in 2017. Google’s current London offices are split across two separate sites in Victoria and Holborn, with a small business incubator building just outside the city’s financial district.

Via The Verge

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