Binoculars Building
The Binoculars Building is a commercial building which incorporates a public sculpture ‘Giant Binoculars’ in its façade.
Located in Venice, Los Angeles, the building was originally built for the advertising agency Chait/Day, between 1991 and 2001. It was designed by the architect Frank Gehry.
Gehry’s post-modern design began with two very different structures, together making up 7,000 sq. m of office space. Gehry wanted to connect and anchor the two in the centre using a ‘giant random object’ as a sculpture. The giant binoculars, designed by artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, became the access point to the building for both cars and pedestrians.
The binoculars were constructed on a steel frame, clad with concrete and cement plaster painted with elastomeric paint.
Two tall and unusually-shaped rooms were created inside that open onto a conference room. Both rooms are fitted with a huge elongated lightbulb suspended from the ceiling.
The building is now one of the many offices leased by Google, but it remains an intriguing and unusual example of Gehry's work.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Building of the week series.
- Calakmul Corporate Building, Mexico.
- Frank Gehry.
- Griffith Observatory, LA.
- Piano Building.
- Ray and Maria Stata Center.
- Robot Building, Bangkok.
- The Atomium.
- The Bierpinsel, Berlin.
- The Sharp Centre for Design.
- Unusual building design of the week.
- Walt Disney Concert Hall.
- Watts Towers.
Featured articles and news
Radial concentric city planning
Favoured in ancient settlements and garden cities but rejected in Circleville.
ICE seeks exceptional net zero projects.
Proper materials and maintenance can help reduce rust.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Is the construction sector responding to calls for ED&I?
Celebrating International LEGO day
Engineers pay tribute by sharing their memories.
The hidden price of infrastructure.
BREEAM incorporates wellbeing into its Building Back Better programme.
President Biden commits to clean energy
Administration signals policy changes on some building-related issues.
From inns and coaching houses to boutiques.
Survey reveals green skills gap.
America's economic collapse produced scores of PWA Moderne projects.
Comments
The building on the right is Frank Gehry's. He collaborated with an artist called Claes Oldenburg who does large sculptures like these binoculars.