Tech companies have developed a new obsession with running tracks

pulse

September 6, 2017 1:23 PM

The 150m running track is located on top of the White Collar Factory building.

It looks like the rooftop running track could be the new office slide for tech companies with big budgets.

London architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) has brought the first rooftop track to an office in east London — but there have been several hiccups along the way.

The story of AHMM's rooftop running track dates back to 2013. Camden Council approved a new AHMM-designed Google headquarters complete with a rooftop running track in King's Cross that September.

But Google cofounder Larry Page scrapped all of AHMM's plans — including the rooftop track — in 2015 because they were too boring, according to The Daily Mail. Google is now working with Heatherwick Studios and BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) on the new office, which is several years behind schedule.

But AHMM's rooftop track vision wasn't dead.

The company has now found a new home for it on top of the White Collar Factory building in Shoreditch, which officially opened this week. US software giant Adobe has three floors in the 16-storey building, and there are dozens of other startups inside.

The running track is 150m in length and goes around the perimeter of the roof, offering tech workers views over London as they work out.

Google still really wants running tracks in its offices though. It has moved thousands of staff into an office with a 90m running track over the road from where its new headquarters was first envisioned. The only difference being that it's indoors.

And when it finally does move into its brand new offices, there'll be an arguably more impressive rooftop track.

Designs have been drawn up by Heatherwick Studios and BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) show that Google's new HQ, which sits within a larger King's Cross campus, will boast a 200m running/walking trail on the roof.

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