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Google barges
The Google barges were a group of four floating barges built between 2010 and 2012, intended by Google to serve as "an interactive space where people can learn about new technology", possibly as luxury showrooms for Google Glass and other products on an invitation-only basis. Google halted work on the barges in late 2013 and began selling off the barges in 2014.
Two of the barges (one San Francisco barge and the former Portland barge) have or had a superstructure consisting of four stories of modern shipping containers welded together. Most of these containers have small slits that may serve as windows. Each superstructure had a container that slants down to ground level at a shallow angle. CBS sources claimed that the first three floors were intended to serve as a showroom, while the upper floor was designated as a party deck. The San Francisco structure had poles at the top that may be antennas, and was described as eventually being decorated with gigantic sails, and being moved among sites in the San Francisco Bay Area as a "temporary technology exhibit space" to "drive visitation to the waterfront".
Google may have built the structures on barges to avoid mandatory city building permits and public plans that may disclose their purpose. Ultimately, however, the time and cost of meeting federal maritime safety regulations may have prompted Google to abandon the project.
The earliest revealed barge, BAL0011, was built in 2011 and was first spotted in New London, Connecticut, where Turner Construction started construction of the superstructure in May 2013, according to The Day. Another barge of identical size was docked behind it, but no superstructure was visible, and workers hadn't been there in several weeks. The local Coast Guard refused to provide additional information on the barge, which led The Day to file a FOIA request with the Coast Guard for documents on the project. On July 1, 2013, Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound held a conference call with Michael Tierney of Google Glass, where it was described that the vessel would travel from port to port, starting with New York Harbor. The containers had been shipped from San Francisco to be assembled in New London.
On October 9, 2013, BAL0011 was tugged to Portland, Maine, where it arrived the next day. As described by the Portland Press Herald, the superstructure is 4 containers long, wide and high, with one slanted container for access, for a total of 63 containers. Each of the upper three floors has doors at each end. Looking through some of the windows reveals windows on the other side, which suggests open interior space created by removing container walls. Cianbro Corp., a general services contractor, was scheduled to perform "a significant amount of interior work, including the installation of undisclosed technological equipment" on the structure, without offloading it from the barge. Peter Vigue, chairman and CEO of Cianbro, refused to discuss any details, but stated that the final destination of the barge was not Maine.
On October 25, CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman chronicled his visit to Treasure Island, San Francisco, a former U.S. Navy base, where a very similar barge (BAL0010) was moored, and where a construction facility called Hangar 3 is located. Satellite imagery showed shipping containers being amassed at Hangar 3, and later moved onto a floating barge moored alongside the adjacent pier. Terdiman uncovered the link to By And Large LLC (possibly simple rhyming slang for "barge"), a dummy company set up by Google. By And Large leased a total of 727,000 sq. ft for US$80,000/month plus a US$158,000 security deposit. A few hours later, Terdiman also linked the San Francisco barge to the Portland barge, identified as BAL0011.
On the same day, KPIX-TV/CBS cited sources close to Google claiming the barge would be a "marketing center for Google Glass" and once completed, would be towed to Fort Mason and open to public access. However, construction had stopped several weeks previously due to a lack of permits. A San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission official (later identified in a video interview as executive director Larry Goldzband), was quoted as saying that Google discussed "hypothetical operations" but hadn't stated the exact purpose of the barge, which is necessary for the issuance of a permit for waterfront docking.
On October 30, CNBC's Josh Lipton reported that the Coast Guard confirmed the structure is associated with Google, but wouldn't comment further. Other US Coast Guard Sector San Francisco officials confirmed and later retracted the Google connection, while confirming that the Coast Guard did visit the Treasure Island barge.
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Google barges
The Google barges were a group of four floating barges built between 2010 and 2012, intended by Google to serve as "an interactive space where people can learn about new technology", possibly as luxury showrooms for Google Glass and other products on an invitation-only basis. Google halted work on the barges in late 2013 and began selling off the barges in 2014.
Two of the barges (one San Francisco barge and the former Portland barge) have or had a superstructure consisting of four stories of modern shipping containers welded together. Most of these containers have small slits that may serve as windows. Each superstructure had a container that slants down to ground level at a shallow angle. CBS sources claimed that the first three floors were intended to serve as a showroom, while the upper floor was designated as a party deck. The San Francisco structure had poles at the top that may be antennas, and was described as eventually being decorated with gigantic sails, and being moved among sites in the San Francisco Bay Area as a "temporary technology exhibit space" to "drive visitation to the waterfront".
Google may have built the structures on barges to avoid mandatory city building permits and public plans that may disclose their purpose. Ultimately, however, the time and cost of meeting federal maritime safety regulations may have prompted Google to abandon the project.
The earliest revealed barge, BAL0011, was built in 2011 and was first spotted in New London, Connecticut, where Turner Construction started construction of the superstructure in May 2013, according to The Day. Another barge of identical size was docked behind it, but no superstructure was visible, and workers hadn't been there in several weeks. The local Coast Guard refused to provide additional information on the barge, which led The Day to file a FOIA request with the Coast Guard for documents on the project. On July 1, 2013, Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound held a conference call with Michael Tierney of Google Glass, where it was described that the vessel would travel from port to port, starting with New York Harbor. The containers had been shipped from San Francisco to be assembled in New London.
On October 9, 2013, BAL0011 was tugged to Portland, Maine, where it arrived the next day. As described by the Portland Press Herald, the superstructure is 4 containers long, wide and high, with one slanted container for access, for a total of 63 containers. Each of the upper three floors has doors at each end. Looking through some of the windows reveals windows on the other side, which suggests open interior space created by removing container walls. Cianbro Corp., a general services contractor, was scheduled to perform "a significant amount of interior work, including the installation of undisclosed technological equipment" on the structure, without offloading it from the barge. Peter Vigue, chairman and CEO of Cianbro, refused to discuss any details, but stated that the final destination of the barge was not Maine.
On October 25, CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman chronicled his visit to Treasure Island, San Francisco, a former U.S. Navy base, where a very similar barge (BAL0010) was moored, and where a construction facility called Hangar 3 is located. Satellite imagery showed shipping containers being amassed at Hangar 3, and later moved onto a floating barge moored alongside the adjacent pier. Terdiman uncovered the link to By And Large LLC (possibly simple rhyming slang for "barge"), a dummy company set up by Google. By And Large leased a total of 727,000 sq. ft for US$80,000/month plus a US$158,000 security deposit. A few hours later, Terdiman also linked the San Francisco barge to the Portland barge, identified as BAL0011.
On the same day, KPIX-TV/CBS cited sources close to Google claiming the barge would be a "marketing center for Google Glass" and once completed, would be towed to Fort Mason and open to public access. However, construction had stopped several weeks previously due to a lack of permits. A San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission official (later identified in a video interview as executive director Larry Goldzband), was quoted as saying that Google discussed "hypothetical operations" but hadn't stated the exact purpose of the barge, which is necessary for the issuance of a permit for waterfront docking.
On October 30, CNBC's Josh Lipton reported that the Coast Guard confirmed the structure is associated with Google, but wouldn't comment further. Other US Coast Guard Sector San Francisco officials confirmed and later retracted the Google connection, while confirming that the Coast Guard did visit the Treasure Island barge.