Located in the new Google headquarters, the Store is designed to activate curiosity and educate the public about the company’s hardware offerings and design process. A sinuous, spine-like sculptural installation winds through the space, providing a 120-foot-long continuous interactive display. With a focus on human physiology and interaction, the spine engages the user at multiple heights and scales to promote discovery with drawers to open, informative visual graphics, and 3D interactive displays.
The Store is a primary hub where people from all over the world can visit, interact with products, and learn more about the company’s design process, ethos, and production methods. The surrounding context—the fluidity of San Francisco Bay’s Northerly estuaries and the man-made grids of the urban fabric–inspired by the design of the central spine.
Within a large, programmatically flexible space, the winding sculptural spine creates a fluid environment by subtly defining discrete areas. Googlers host lectures and events in the open spaces, utilizing the flexible seating and large-scale interactive screens.
Human comfort was a primary consideration in the design development, with attention paid to the scale of human interaction–from the comfortable reach range for accessing a product to the viewing angle for visual displays. All is choreographed to inspire the brain and body.
While the spine appears visually complex, it was designed to be simple and repetitive in construction. Eight modular sections repeat along the length, with components designed to be adaptable, easily edited and future proofed while disguising its modularity.
All structure, power, data and security systems are hidden from view. Dense wiring needs were addressed through the careful arrangement of elements, and design systems that allow flexibility for various product display needs. Developed in tandem with the Google Visual Merchandising team, all displays have the ability to be revised seasonally, with future product space needs in mind.
The project achieved LEED Platinum certification, and a Living Building Challenge Materials Petal, which endorses products that are safe for all species through time. The project uses No Added Urea Formaldehyde (NAUF) wood and Red List Free materials throughout.
