Google Rethinks Its Office Needs

Google has announced plans to add approximately 1.1 million square feet to the existing 2 million square feet of office space at the company’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California, in collaboration with architects BIG and Heatherwick Studio.

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Google’s largest facility to date is the 111 Eighth Avenue building in New York City at 2.9 million square feet. But the technology giant has announced plans to add approximately 1.1 million square feet (102,000 sq m) to the existing 2 million square feet and (186,000 sq m) of office space at the company’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California, in collaboration with architects BIG and Heatherwick Studio.

From Google’s blog: “Today we’re submitting a plan to redevelop four sites—places where we already have offices but hope to significantly increase our square footage—to the Mountain View City Council. It’s the first time we’ll design and build offices from scratch and we hope these plans by Bjarke Ingels at BIG and Thomas Heatherwick at Heatherwick Studio will lead to a better way of working.”

According to the post by David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate, the goal is to create a more modular, adaptable facility as space needs change. “Instead of constructing immoveable concrete buildings,” said Radcliffe, “we’ll create lightweight block-like structures which can be moved around easily as we invest in new product areas. ... Large translucent canopies will cover each site, controlling the climate inside yet letting in light and air. With trees, landscaping, cafes, and bike paths weaving through these structures, we aim to blur the distinction between our buildings and nature.”

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Brett Widness is the managing editor of Urban Land. Previously, he worked in online editorial at the Washington Post, AARP, and AOL, now part of Yahoo!
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