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Offices at Former Historical Hangar

Group Delta provided geotechnical and environmental services to Google during the design and construction phases of their new YouTube Headquarters in the iconic former Hercules Hangar in Playa Vista, California. The new headquarters comprise a 3,000 person, 4-level office constructed entirely within the former Hangar which incorporated refurbished components of the original engineering building used to design and build the Hercules Helicopters and, of course, the largest all wood plane ever to fly – the iconic Spruce Goose.

Given the historical significance of the structure and the requirement to incorporate portions of the former internal structures of hangar into the Google office, engineering design and environmental oversight during construction required careful planning and complex coordination between multiple parties including Google, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Primary Responsible Party of the legacy subsurface contamination (Playa Capital Company), and the owners of the Hangar.

Group Delta’s environmental activities included third party oversight of additional soil and soil gas investigations, review of all environmental documentation associated with the due diligence period, and consulting on strategies regarding environmental liabilities. A Revised Remedial Action Plan (RAP) was prepared and submitted to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LARWQCB) and ultimately approved. Group Delta also assisted Google in the negotiation for assigning environmental liabilities when the existing remediation system was slightly modified to allow for construction of the new office building. Lastly, Group Delta prepared the project’s soil management plan including the development of screening levels for the site and then performed on-site environmental monitoring during all soil excavation activities.

Group Delta’s geotechnical activities included field investigation, geotechnical lab testing, assessment of geologic and seismic hazards, assessment of the existing timber pile foundation system beneath the hangar, shallow and deep foundation recommendations, recommendations for site grading, and pavement design. Group Delta also provided services during pile installation, including pile installation observation and pile load test observation and analysis.

Location: Playa Vista, California
Client: Google

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