BIG + Heatherwick Studio's Google headquarters roof construction progress

The new Google Charleston East HQ is one of project long-anticipated of year. Google's expansion for their Mountain View headquarters, designed by BIG and Heatherwick Studio, was slated to be completed late 2019. The complex will be partially accessible to the public and will include a series of pavilions, cafes, shops, as well as retail and plenty of landscaping for both employees and local residents to enjoy.

The 111th Group has provided the finest in aerial photography for California's Bay Area and beyond since 1994. Specializing in commercial real estate photography, mapping, aerial surveys, GIS, construction progress photography and more, the 111th utilizes airplanes, helicopters and FAA approved drones to provide high quality photography and videography services. The 111th Group is located in the heart of the California's Silicon Valley.

A series of aerial images of the construction progress were taken during a July 6 flyover by 111th Photography Group, a company that specializes in taking still and video photography for commercial purposes. The aerial photos don't reveal much about the actual buildings but do show significant progress to the elaborate canopies that cover the structures.

The shots show progress on Google's Charleston East campus, which is an extension of its neighboring Googleplex headquarters and which will be the focal point for a massive mixed-use development that will include high-density housing along with retail and restaurants; and the Bay View campus, which is an office and R&D project going up on NASA-owned land on the northern edge of Moffett Field.

A drone video of construction progress from earlier this year, February, 2019, below.

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Google headquarters by BIG + Heatherwick Studio. Image courtesy the 111th Group

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BJARKE INGELS

Bjarke Ingels (born in Copenhagen, in 1974) studied architecture at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen and the School of Architecture of Barcelona, obtaining his degree as an architect in 1998. He is the founder of the BIG architecture studio - (Bjarke Ingels Group), a studio founded in 2005, after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 with his former partner Julien de Smedt, whom he met while working at the prestigious OMA studio in Rotterdam.

Bjarke has designed and completed award-winning buildings worldwide, and currently, his studio is based with venues in Copenhagen and New York. His projects include The Mountain, a residential complex in Copenhagen, and the innovative Danish Maritime Museum in Elsinore.

With the PLOT study, he won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2004, and with BIG he has received numerous awards such as the ULI Award for Excellence in 2009. Other prizes are the Culture Prize of the Crown Prince of Denmark in 2011; Along with his architectural practice, Bjarke has taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University and Rice University and is an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen.

In 2018, Bjarke received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Dannebrog granted by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II. He is a frequent public speaker and continues to give lectures at places such as TED, WIRED, AMCHAM, 10 Downing Street or the World Economic Forum. In 2018, Bjarke was appointed Chief Architectural Advisor by WeWork to advise and develop the design vision and language of the company for buildings, campuses and neighborhoods around the world.

THOMAS HEATHERWICK

Thomas Heatherwick (17.02.1970) established in 1994, Heatherwick Studio recognised for its work in architecture, urban infrastructure, sculpture, design and strategic thinking. Today a team of 180, including architects, designers and makers, works from a combined studio and workshop in Kings Cross, London.

At the heart of the studio’s work is a profound commitment to finding innovative design solutions, with a dedication to artistic thinking and the latent potential of materials and craftsmanship. This is achieved through a working methodology of collaborative rational inquiry, undertaken in a spirit of curiosity and experimentation.

In the twenty years of its existence, Heatherwick Studio has worked in many countries, with a wide range of commissioners and in a variety of regulatory environments. Through this experience, the studio has acquired a high level of expertise in the design and realisation of unusual projects, with a particular focus on the large scale.

The studio’s work includes a number of nationally significant projects for the UK, including the award-winning UK Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, the Olympic Cauldron for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and the New Bus for London.

Thomas is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects; a Senior Research Fellow at the Victoria & Albert Museum; and has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Royal College of Art, University of Dundee, University of Brighton, Sheffield Hallam University and University of Manchester.

He has won the Prince Philip Designers Prize, and, in 2004, was the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry. In 2010, Thomas was awarded the RIBA’s Lubetkin Prize and the London Design Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to design.

In 2013 Thomas was awarded a CBE for his services to the design industry.