Binoculars Building

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. 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. 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.