Google Campus is a seven storey co-working and event space in the centre of London’sTech City, otherwise known as Silicon Roundabout.The project, run by Google UK aims to fuel the success of London’s tech start upcommunity.
Working with partners Seedcamp, Tech Hub, Springboard and Central Working, theprimary function of Campus will be to provide office space for startup companies,but the facilities will also host daily events, offer regular speaker series with leadingtechnology and entrepreneurship experts, hold networking events and run a constantmentoring program where Google staff will share their experience and expertise withresidents.Non-residential registered users will have access to the cafe and co-working space onthe lower ground floor.
The design challenge was to take an unprepossessing seven-storey office buildingand to create an interplay between dynamic, open, social spaces and more intimateworking hubs, with flexibility to accommodate a shifting workforce and a diverseprogram of events.
Much of the architectural focus has been on opening up and connecting the groundand lower ground floors programmatically to play host to a series of socialized spaces,from reception and informal meeting areas to theatre, cafe and workshop spaces.Furthermore the overall look and feel of the building was designed to reflect the natureof the future occupants of the building: young start-ups who are just about to kick offtheir careers rather than well established corporate companies. By stripping back thebuilding to its core, exposing all services, revealing the existing structure of ceilingslabs and columns and combining this with utilitarian and inexpensive materials suchas linoleum and plywood a raw aesthetic has been created not dissimilar to a garage orworkshop.
This low-tech environment has then been furnished with several autonomous objects,which emanate a strong presence in the space:In the reception visitors are welcomed by a reception desk partly made from multicolouredLego bricks – a nod to Google’s founders who always had a special fondnessfor the Danish toy building blocks – in an otherwise unbranded environment.
A large inspiration wall made from reclaimed vegetable crates dominates the holding area. The wall can be used as shelving for books and magazine or to display objectsand artefacts that help tell the story of the building and its inhabitants. The firstexhibition installed for the launch of the building revolves around iconic objects fromthe world of communication and consumer electronics.Towards the rear the holding area opens up to a large presentation room offering seatsfor up to 140 people. The two spaces can be subdivided by means of a bright red rollershutter which contributes to the industrial aesthetic of the environment.
The loading bay next to reception has been converted to accommodate up to 40 bicyclestations to encourage cycling.
Working areas, which occupy the upper five floors of the building, are open plan. Theyincorporate multi-functioning container units that separates circulation from themain office space and offer hot desking, personal lockers, recycling stations, videoconferencing / meeting booths and a micro kitchen. It is complemented by a softseating area facing the micro kitchen, along with an upholstered nook offering respitefrom the hustle and bustle of the working areas. Large panels upholstered in a neutralgrey fabric along the walls improve the acoustics of the space and double up as pin-upsurfaces.
Access to both the top floor flat roof and the lower ground floor courtyard has beenintroduced to offer up an enhanced experience of the building.The top-floor flat roof has been timber decked and will be used for cinema screeningsand social gatherings. Working with landscape artists ‘The Wayward Plant Project’ thelower ground floor exterior space has been transformed into a timber decked patiofeaturing moss walls and a fern garden, alongside flowers that are technologicallyenhanced to tweet when in need of water! This external space is open to residents ofthe building as well as visitors of the adjacent café.
The design of the café follows the same logic and employs the same materials thathave been used elsewhere in the building. The coffee bar itself sits kiosk-like in thecentre of the floor and divides the space into two separate zones: the café towards therear featuring bespoke upholstered banquet seating and small benches made fromsimple, oiled plywood as well as a large mural by graphic artist Luke Embden.A large workbench for informal workshops and seminars occupies the front of thespace.The half-pipe room behind a wooden warehouse door offers a calm and mutedatmosphere to brainstorm new business ideas or simply relax after lunch.
