flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

New flight pattern: Google, Spruce Goose

Reconstruction Awards

New flight pattern: Google, Spruce Goose

The hangar that once housed the Spruce Goose is adapted to meet a tech giant’s workplace needs.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | December 12, 2019
Google, Spruce Goose

Photo: Connie Zhou

Since 2016, Google has leased the seven-story, 750-foot-long hangar where, in 1943, Howard Hughes housed his all-wood-body Hercules IV airplane, the “Spruce Goose.”

The project team recreated this space into a four-story building within a building comprised of office, meeting, and event areas, as well as employee amenities, which unify the existing campus.

The hangar’s original 75-foot-high glulam arches and wood sidings were preserved and exposed to the interior. Twenty thousand three-foot-long, half-inch-diameter screws secure the arches and wood structure. The all-wood spine that supports the ceiling was deconstructed and rebuilt with noncombustible materials that were reclad with refurbished wood panels.

The project’s complexity included running six miles of conduit underground around 1,500 piles.

To promote user engagement, the main circulation on each level was formed into a zigzag, bridging the spine and two sides of the hangar. A “boardwalk” connects the interior structure from the ground floor to the third level.

 

HONORABLE MENTION

BUILDING TEAM ZGF Architects (submitting firm, architect) Google (owner/developer) Arup (SE, MEP) MATT Construction (GC, CM) DETAILS 450,000 sf Total cost Confidential Construction time August 2016 to July 2018 Delivery method CM at risk

Related Stories

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016

BD+C's 2016 Reconstruction Award Winners

St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Lovejoy Wharf, and the Bay Area Metro Center are just a few of the projects recognized as 2016 Reconstruction Award winners.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016

Reconstruction Awards: The Renwick Gallery of The Smithsonian American Art Museum

The renovation restored two long-concealed vaulted ceilings in the second-floor galleries and recreated the original 19th-century window configuration.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016

Reconstruction Awards: Massachusetts Maritime Academy

The two-story “overbuild” employed block and plank construction with drag strut detailing to connect it to the existing building.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016

Reconstruction Awards: The Masonic Temple

The building team suspended a new eighth-floor mezzanine and added 18 9x15-foot windows to the north, south, and west façades.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016

Reconstruction Awards: San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building

The building team used a system of rocking concrete shear walls, which eliminated the need for deep foundations and reduced the shear force on each wall.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016

Reconstruction Awards: Arc at Old Colony

The Arc at Old Colony's vintage floor plans, voluminous lobby, and myriad elevators were perfect for redevelopment as a historically charming residential building.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016

Reconstruction Awards: Noble Chapel

In May 2013 the 124-year-old Noble Chapel, suffered a three-alarm fire that almost completely destroyed its 1937 crematorium.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2016

Reconstruction Awards: Bay Area Metro Center

The structure’s 60,000-sf floor plates made the interior dark and foreboding, and BAHA wanted to improve working conditions for its employees and tenants. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Giants 400

BD+C Awards Programs

Entry information and past winners for Building Design+Construction's two major awards programs: 40 Under 40 and Giants 400



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021