Pier 57
Handel Architects · Hudson River Park · 2022
South facade of Pier 57 from Little Island.
Construction is nearing completion on the renovation of Pier 57 at the Hudson River Park in Chelsea. The pier originally opened in 1954 as an ocean liner pier for cargo and passenger services. At the time of its opening, the pier was the largest dock construction project by the City of New York.
Northwest corner.
West facade.
South facade.
In it's current renovation, the pier houses anchor tenants Google in a 250,000-square-foot space. Later this year, the James Beard Foundation is slated to open a showcase kitchen, dining and demonstration space, and food hall with vendor kiosks. A two acre public park occupies the roof. The project is led by developers RXR Realty with Youngwoo & Associates and Handel Architects is responsible for the design.
Rooftop Park
A 80,000 square foot public park at the rooftop, designed by Handel Architects in collaboration with !Melk Landscape Architecture, will offer a screening venue for the Tribeca Film Festival.
Rooftop park lawn with the round skylights for the Google offices below.
Google Offices
Google’s Hudson River campus on Pier 57 includes space for 450 employees, adding to the tech company’s New York staff that already totals over 12,000. Diller Scofidio + Renfro led the design of the interiors, along with HLW International.
Visitor landing with the skylights that are visible on the public rooftop park above.
Looking up at the skylights.
Breakout space along the south facade of the pier.
West terrace with views to Little Island and Lower Manhattan.
Architects: Handel Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro with HLW International (Google office interiors); Landscape Architect: !Melk Landscape Architecture; Developer: RXR Realty with YoungWoo & Associates; Program: Retail, Office, Park; Location: Chelsea, New York, NY; Completion: 2022.
Construction Update: Google Charleston East and Bay View Campus
Charleston East Campus
Construction is nearing completion at Google’s Charleston East campus expansion next to the original Googleplex campus in Sunnyvale, California. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Thomas Heatherwick, the 645,000 square foot campus features a hangar like canopy that allows for flexibility in locating walls and floor below. According to BIG, their strategy for the building was to “create a replicable and scalable building typology that is also adaptable and inclusive” to Google’s other potential expansion sites nearby.
Close-up of the roof with stainless steel edge profile and pv shingle installation underway.
Smile-shaped clerestories of bird-safe glass bring direct, indirect, and diffused natural light into the building.
Bay View Campus
Along with the Charleston East Campus, BIG and Heatherwick have designed three similar structures at the Bay View Campus on the grounds of the NASA Ames Research Center. Like Charleston East, these structures feature the canopy structure clad in pv shingles and clerestory glass.
Close-up of the roof clad with PV shingles.
Architects: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) with Thomas Heatherwick; Client: Alphabet; Program: Office; Location: Sunnyvale, Santa Clara County, CA; Completion: 2022.
