Completion Date:     7/11/2014

Square Footage:      128000

Building Use:           Commercial Mixed-Use: Office, Retail, Fitness

Location:                 Irvine, CA

Project Description:

Google was the last piece of the puzzle, so we came in and solved it by designing a LEED Platinum creative office that cost less and changed the lifestyle of the campus.

Renowned for their unconventional workspaces and open company culture, Google needed a progressive, sustainable and contemporary environment befitting of their collaborative, innovative thinkers. We recognized this, and we weren’t afraid to think big for this 128,000 sf new construction.

The construction carried an even deeper impact, however: The search-engine behemoth’s OC Headquarters was the last element to close the undefined space of the existing IMPAC Center campus, a collection of office buildings and a freestanding restaurant. Loosely organized on a vehicular approach, the area fell prey to awkward geometries, limited pedestrian social interaction and underutilized space.

To create life within the plaza and unify the campus, we designed the architectural language of the headquarters to be a cohesive addition to the existing site, while successfully molding a central public green space that revitalized the land and campus as a whole. Both inviting and functional, the new building and radical design of the plaza creates a pedestrian-focused environment that engages the business community and increases social interactivity.

On the ground floor, the building provides a public café to help energize the site by drawing in pedestrian traffic. The ground floor serves as a transitionary space from the public and private work areas above, housing the semi-public and private uses for the occupants, such as fitness and conference facilities. The balconies and 4th floor roof garden serve as an important amenity to the occupants, enhancing the occupant comfort and providing an abundance of natural daylighting and views. The roof garden, pedestrian walkways, and first-floor café seating encourage the building occupants to enjoy the year-round, mild California weather and seamlessly transition their work to the outdoors.

As for the building itself, the precast concrete on the eastern street side allows the building to fit into the existing complex and reflect the context of the site. The color palette echoes the earth tones of the surrounding wetlands and the hardness of the mountains beyond. As the building transitions around towards the plaza so does the skin transition to the softer plaza context. The striking monolithic glass and aluminum curtain wall façade reduces the perception of building mass by pulling in reflections of blue sky and white clouds, the glazing mirroring the softness of the sky above. Below, a parking level features over 75 bike, 24 electronic vehicle and rows of carpool and clean air spaces.

The resulting structure received LEED Platinum certification and achieved exemplary performance through water efficiency and maximizing open space. The 10-foot high perimeter glazing provides more than 90% of the interior spaces with natural daylighting and the building was constructed with 30% recycled content, 30% regional materials, 95% of wood products were Certified Wood, and over 90% of construction waste was sustainably managed. In addition, our efficient design led to a faster build and saved the client over $1.5 million while allowing the owner to retain Google as a valued tenant.

C.O.T.E. | Committee on the Environment

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