Binoculars Building

Binoculars Building
Binoculars Building
Alternative names	Chiat/Day Building
General information
Type	Commercial office
Architectural style	Postmodern
Address	340 Main Street
Town or city	Venice, Los Angeles, California
Country	United States
Coordinates	33°59′43″N 118°28′37″W / 33.99525°N 118.477083°WCoordinates: 33°59′43″N 118°28′37″W / 33.99525°N 118.477083°W
Current tenants	Google
Completed	1991
Owner	W. P. Carey & Co.
Design and construction
Architect	Frank Gehry

The Binoculars Building, originally the Chiat/Day Building, is a commercial office building located in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Built between 1985-1991 for advertising agency Chiat/Day (now TBWA\Chiat\Day) as its West Coast corporate headquarters, it was designed by Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry, his last project in Los Angeles until the Walt Disney Concert Hall began construction in 1999.^[1]

The building is notable for the three different styles used in the main facade on Main Street, particularly the massive sculpture of binoculars that function as both a car and pedestrian entrance. The binoculars were designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.^[2] The entrance to the parking garage is between the lenses of the binoculars. The 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m²) building was delayed for a few years after hazardous materials were found on the building site, requiring removal. TBWA\Chiat\Day is no longer a tenant in the building, having moved to another area of Los Angeles known as Mar Vista. The last tenant of this building was Ketchum Inc., a public relations group.

In January 2011, W. P. Carey & Co. announced Google was leasing 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) of space in the building and two neighboring buildings, part of a major expansion to establish a larger employment presence in Los Angeles.^[1][3][4]

Panorama showing proportion of building

See also

• The headquarter building of The Longaberger Company in Newark, Ohio; shaped like a picnic basket

References

1. Verini, James (11 September 2003). "L.A.: Gehry's laboratory". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
2. "Claes Oldenburg" guggenheim.org, retrieved Dec 25, 2009
3. Sarno, David (26 January 2011). "Google leases office complex in Venice". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
4. Carlson, Nicholas (8 February 2011). "Photos Of Google's Wacky New "Binoculars Building" Office On Venice Beach". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 14 May 2011.

External links

• Guggenheim Museum profile
• ArcSpace: Chiat/Day Building 1991
• On the Sunny Side of the Street