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Google's huge London property empire is starting to take shape

Google's huge London property empire is starting to take shape

The area behind King's Cross has been significantly redeveloped over the last few years and Google is moving into a number of new properties in the area.

Google announced plans to build a new £1 billion HQ on the 300m green plot of land in 2013.

Architects AHMM drew up these plans for Google's UK in September 2013.

At the time, The Guardian wrote: "On a long, thin sliver of land between the railway tracks in King’s Cross, where rusting gasometers and soot-caked sheds once stood, a multi-storey pleasure palace will soon rise out of the ground. Complete with climbing wall, indoor football pitch and a rooftop swimming pool, this is not a new leisure centre for the people of Camden, but Google’s spanking new £1bn London headquarters – designed to make going to work feel like an exciting day out."

But ex-Google CEO Larry Page dismissed them in February 2015 for being too boring.

As Google stalled on its main HQ, it snapped up this huge building over the road which had already been built.

The office, which is over the road from UCL university and the British Library, boasts roof terraces with great views over London.

It can be accessed through this funky tunnel which runs from King's Cross station.

The 6 Pancras Square building also contains a "YouTube Space" on the ground floor which is kitted out with studios and meeting areas.

Staff began moving into 6 Pancras Square in June and up to 2,800 Googlers are expected to be in the building by the end of 2016, including Android engineers and AI researchers at DeepMind.

It has been designed to be more subtle and stylish than some of Google's other buildings, which have Google's bold colours throughout.

A floating staircase links some of the upper floors in the 11-storey building.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai finally announced the new architect for the main HQ building in November.

British superstar architect Thomas Heatherwick, whose firm designed the Olympic Cauldron for London 2012, has been tasked with designing Google's new UK HQ.

This appears to be the only image that Heatherwick Studios has released of the new Google HQ building. Heatherwick Studios is also designing Google's new international HQ in California.

In addition to 6 Pancras Square and the Thomas Heatherwick building, Google is also planning to move into this yet-to-be-built property at King's Cross. It is being built on a plot known simply as "S2".

Outside King's Cross, Google has offices in Tottenham Court Road and Victoria. It's understood that these offices will eventually be closed as Google expands in King's Cross.

Google also has a space for startups in East London known simply as Campus.

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