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What Job? Clive Wilkinson, world-famous Architect

The Googleplex by Clive Wilkinson

Mountain View, Googleplex, Google Head Quarters in the USA

Ever wondered who designed the world-famous Googleplex headquarters interior in Mountain View, California? Or perhaps JWT in New York City or Mother Advertising based in Redchurch Street, London, England? Let us introduce Clive Wilkinson Architects of Culver City, New York, an absolute design genius!

You will be forgiven for assuming Clive Wilkinson is a New York Native, but he was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1954. Over the years, his business has designed some of the USA's finest-looking corporate headquarters, from Silicon Valley to Washington and, of course, New York, where his firm of equally talented interior designers have their office on Washington Boulevard, Culver City.

After completing an architectural degree at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, Wilkinson finished his professional schooling in 1980 at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) in London, England. From there, he took employment as a design director and collaborated on urban renewal projects such as TVAM Studios and Alban Gate.

During the 1990s, Wilkinson worked in Syndey, Australia, and London before relocating to Los Angles to work as a Project Manager at the Disney Concert Hall. His Culver City-based firm was quickly established, and one of his first projects was to design the headquarters of world-renowned advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day based in Venice, Los Angeles. On this project, Clive transformed an empty warehouse into an Advertising City where open offices co-exist with a basketball court and Main Street. The outwardly plain-looking structure was made visually dynamic by adding a yellow gatehouse entrance with a tubular bridge structure.

In more recent times, Wilkinson Architects has designed the studios of radio station KCRW and also the Santa Monica College's Academy of Entertainment Technology campus, which was awarded 2018 Best of Year Winner for Higher Education. The firm has also collaborated with several other leading architects for Silicon Valley giants such as Intuit and Google.

In 2019, Wilkinson released his first book 'The Theatre of Work.' The book examines the history of the workplace and outlines a thesis for elevating the experience of the office to the level of the compelling theatre. It includes fourteen case studies of his firm's work, based on seven design principles.

If you are interested in knowing more about Clive Wilkinson and his career we strongly suggest you download a copy of his book by going to https://clivewilkinson.com/the-theatre-of-work/