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
Local leaders gain new powers to support local high streets
High Street Rental Auctions to be introduced from December.
Infrastructure sector posts second gain for October
With a boost for housebuilder and commercial developer contract awards.
Sustainable construction design teams survey
Shaping the Future of Sustainable Design: Your Voice Matters.
COP29; impacts of construction and updates
Amid criticism, open letters and calls for reform.
The properties of conservation rooflights
Things to consider when choosing the right product.
Adapting to meet changing needs.
London Build: A festival of construction
Co-located with the London Build Fire & Security Expo.
Tasked with locating groups of 10,000 homes with opportunity.
Delivering radical reform in the UK energy market
What are the benefits, barriers and underlying principles.
Information Management Initiative IMI
Building sector-transforming capabilities in emerging technologies.
Recent study of UK households reveals chilling home truths
Poor insulation, EPC knowledge and lack of understanding as to what retrofit might offer.
Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment
Overview, regulations, detail calculations and much more.
Why the construction sector must embrace workplace mental health support
Let’s talk; more importantly now, than ever.
Ensuring the trustworthiness of AI systems
A key growth area, including impacts for construction.
Foundations for the Future: A new model for social housing
To create a social housing pipeline, that reduces the need for continuous government funding.
Mutual Investment Models or MIMs
PPP or PFI, enhanced for public interest by the Welsh Government.
Key points and relevance to construction of meeting, due to reconvene.
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.