Commercial \ Google Headquarters, Kings Cross, London

Google Headquarters Kings Cross London

As part of a design exploration, a representative of Argent the developers of the Kings Cross site asked us to look at the idea of building the Google HQ office building over the railway tracks which fan out to serve Kings Cross Station. Our experience of working with Network Rail at the Haymarket Edinburgh was useful, and we designed a vierendeel beam structure that could be constructed whilst the station remained completely operational. The site used this railway space plus some of the already designated site alongside, but left the reminder of that site free for another development.

The advantage of this approach was that it created a building with the possibility of a 'big room' at its centre around which hierarchies of office space could revolve. We understood that the 'big room' had been a client aspiration. The use of this site would also make an urban connection from York Way (the road alongside the eastern edge of the station), to the main new Kings Cross development. This street level space could not only be the main address of the new office, but also potentially an alternative entrance to the station platforms. A secondary address plus taxi drop-off could be located on Goods Way on the northern edge.

At ground level, retail was located to east and west with the 'big room' at the first floor. This gave access to seven 'valleys' between office fingers, each one stepping back from the 'big room'. Great effort was made to have many roof gardens for miscellaneous recreational functions, as well as a large roof park across the 'big room'. This was the equivelant of the gardens in Bedford Square. In the spirit of Archigram, and long before the advent of AI, we incorporated a ‘Google Airship’ tethered over the central atrium roof, and which would rise on sunny days to open the space to the sky and connect the park to the offices.