Google has submitted planning permission for its £1bn King's Cross HQ that will boast jazzy features including swimming pools and sleep pods.Designed by Heatherwick Studio and Bjarke Ingels Group, construction on the 11-storey building will commence in 2018.Spread across more than 1m square feet of space, the campus will house 7,000 employeesThis building will be the first, wholly owned and designed Google building outside the US.It will be combined with the current building at 6 Pancras Square and an additional third building.
The super HQ will boast a 25 metre swimming pool and a "wellness and fitness centre" that will include a gym, an indoor games areas where employees can pay basketball and football, and a rooftop cafe.It will also come with a "trim trail" for running enthusiasts and "pause areas" with plants for those who want to enjoy some quiet time.Joe Borrett, director of real estate and construction, said: "We are excited to be able to bring our London Googlers together in one campus, with a new purpose-built building that we've developed from the ground up."Our offices and facilities play a key part in shaping the Google culture, which is one of the reasons we are known for being amongst the best places to work in the industry."Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio, who jointly designed the new building, said:
“As my home and the home of my studio for more than 15 years, I have a close relationship with King’s Cross."The area is a fascinating collision of diverse building types and spaces and I can't help but love this mix of massive railway stations, roads, canals and other infrastructure all layered up into the most connected point in London.“Influenced by these surroundings, we have treated this new building for Google like a piece of infrastructure too, made from a family of interchangeable elements which ensure that the building and its workspace will stay flexible for years to come."
Bjarke Ingels, founding partner at Bjarke Ingels Group, joint architect of Google’s new building, added: “Our design for the new Google Campus at King’s Cross is rooted in the local character of the area, taking advantage of the contextually defined building envelope while creating continuously cascading work environments that will connect Googlers across multiple floors."By opening up the ground floor and activating the roofscape, the light and airy workspaces are sandwiched between the terraced gardens on the roof - and market halls, auditoria and shops on the ground.”