GOOGLE IS PLANNING TO CONSTRUCT A NEW AND IMPROVED HEADQUARTERS.

GOOGLE IS PLANNING TO CONSTRUCT A NEW AND IMPROVED HEADQUARTERS.

Tatjana Medvedev

Tatjana Medvedev

Dec 3, 2023 · 5 min read

Google has submitted plans to rebuild its headquarters from scratch. Instead of constructing immovable buildings, it will build movable structures.

Google is widely known for its innovative and sometimes quirky ideas. From its search algorithms and gadgets to its workplace philosophy and the way the tech giant designs its headquarters, you will surely find something that you will find quite fascinating. And it looks like Google is cooking up something that the world has never seen before.

city council of Mountain View

Just recently, the tech giant has sent plans to the city council of Mountain View, California in the United States for a new headquarters. Google’s proposed new HQ was designed by Denmark’s Bjarke Ingels Group or BIG and London’s Heatherwick Studio.1

New Google building
New Google Building

So what is different from Google’s new headquarters?

After inhabiting a variety of workplaces, including a garage in Menlo Park, a farmhouse in Denmark, and an entire block in New York City, Google said it has discovered the ingredients to making great office space and it is exciting to put the things the company has learned into practice by incorporating them into the design of Google’s new headquarters.

Lightweight block-like structures

Instead of building conventional concrete buildings, Google said it will create lightweight block-like structures that can be moved around easily as the company invests in new product areas. Each site will be covered with large, translucent canopies that will control the indoor climate but will still enable natural light and air to circulate inside. The tech giant also seeks to “blur the distinction between buildings and nature” by allowing trees, landscaping, cafes, and bike paths to weave through the structures Google will build.

New Google building
New Google Building

Aside from providing its hundreds of employees with an excellent work environment, Google said it is redesigning its headquarters so it can do more with the local community. The tech giant plans to add more bike paths and retail opportunities for local businesses such as cafes and restaurants. According to the company, it wants to create office spaces that don’t just provide a great home for Google, but one that also works for the city that has given them so much for the last 15 years.

New headquarters

With its new headquarters, Google also seeks to “bring new life” to the local environment. As part of the redesign, the company is planning to enhance burrowing owl habitats and widen creek beds in the area among other things. It also plans to make the buildings more sustainable so it can save more energy.2

While the Mountain View City Council has yet to approve Google’s plans, the project certainly looks promising, if initial sketches of the company’s new headquarters are to go by.

References:

1 Sara Johnson. “BIG and Heatherwick Studio Design a New Google Headquarters.” http://www.architectmagazine.com/design/big-and-heatherwick-studio-design-a-new-google-headquarters_o

2 “Rethinking Office Space.” http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/rethinking-office-space.html

Pictures sourced from:

www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/9079062/Google-plans-secret-lab.html

www.uslibrary.gods.us/2014/05/29/ok-google/

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CkOErV5aQp5Zv3elUf_X8P7Q47tN5IzxNr21Rg9-KVcx5Ny43sRf9bH62fQzsWdZ5JnTEg=w1311-h495
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/99vh_hDKws5fx6dqciaTFBoI5csdfK9LpLN1LQlxJWYj_VuQgUj6Zu4YoaPRJ5MJHiEVDw=s190
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