Gillespies designs cascading terraces to run length of landmark building
Google has submitted plans for its new King’s Cross headquarters, including a 300m-long roof garden designed by Gillespies.
The 11-storey building is a collaboration between Denmark’s Bjarke Ingels Group and Heatherwick Studios, with BDP as lead consultant and design-delivery architect. It stretches from Regent’s Canal to King’s Cross station.
The rooftop garden runs the length of the building, cascading down through different levels. The elaborate plan includes trees, gardens, lawns, wildflowers, terraces, grand staircases, decked seating areas and a 200m running track.
Inside, the building is a self-contained campus, with room to house up to 7,000 employees, with open-plan office space and meeting rooms, an Olympic-size swimming pool, sports hall, cafes, an auditorium, and shops at street level. All materials will be sourced through Google’s healthy materials programme.
Construction is scheduled to start in 2018. The planning application, with full sets of drawings, is available to view at camden.gov.uk.
