Google opens headquarters in New York built in 1930s railway terminal

A 1930s railroad terminal in New York City is the location of Google 's new building to serve its North American operations. The space was restored and adapted by architectural firms CookFox Architects and Gensler.

Named St John's Terminal , this terminal served as an end point for the rail line that is now the High Line . The restoration project even added nine floors above the original three floors.

CookFox Architects also cut away part of the old terminal south of Houston Street, which runs parallel to the new entrance, exposing the building’s structure.

“We have cut through the historic structure south of Houston Street, removing a tunnel and restoring the pedestrian connection between the Hudson Square neighborhood and the West Side waterfront,” the firm said. “This strategic slicing exposes the rail beds and reveals the history of the terminal to the public.”

Gensler , who led the interior design for the project, organized the interior around sections, guiding the design around the functioning of team units within the organization.

"St John's Terminal is designed to support the needs of Google teams both passively and actively, and to help Googlers do their best work more quickly and efficiently," Gensler director Carlos M. Martínez Flórez told UK magazine Dezeen.

The building will accommodate a workforce of more than 3,000 employees, with an interior organized into 60 departments that will function as central spaces for teams of about 20 to 50 workers, eliminating assigned desks in favor of flexible seating areas.

Other spaces include workrooms on every floor, cafes, rooftop terraces, micro-kitchens and event spaces such as theaters. Outside, 1.5 acres surrounding the building have been planted with plant species native to New York.

The building is LEED v4 Platinum certified for its core and shell development and is pursuing LEED v4 Platinum certification for interiors, according to the team.

Its retrofit is "projected to save approximately 78,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions" compared to new structural construction, according to the team.

Other sustainable design strategies incorporated into the project include: solar panels, rainwater retention, and the use of reclaimed wood from the Coney Island Boardwalk after Hurricane Sandy.