Google, the internet monster which has more than 50,000 employees, is looking for new ways to attract engineers and retain staff as it expands its product lineup beyond its core search business. The company might have new plans for a headquarters of its own, the campus is designed by Bjarke Ingels at BIG and Thomas Heatherwick at Heatherwick Studio, and it will be the first time Google has built offices from scratch, instead of taking over previously existing buildings.
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Google’s futuristic campus will have a series of huge, transparent canopied buildings filled with open spaces for Googlers to congregate, instead of traditional walls or roofs, and their interiors will have light-weight, movable components, so the layout can be changed upon request. Google says the large transparent canopies are designed to control the climate while still letting in light, air, and even some of the great outdoors. The plan includes bike paths and retail opportunities for local businesses such as restaurants, cafes, and shops under the canopies.
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Theoretically, a section housing a team could be picked up and moved elsewhere on the campus depending on what other teams it is working with. Translucent canopies will cover each site, allowing plenty of natural light. The canopies, Google says, will also liberate the buildings from “traditional architectural limitations like walls, windows and roofs.”
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According to the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Google real estate chief David Radcliffe talks about the vision behind the idea and many more details. Including Google’s hope to build solar panels right into the canopies themselves—and how Google plans to have robots that actually lift and move modular sections of the inner buildings around.
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“As we’ve inhabited a variety of workplaces—including a garage in Menlo Park, a farmhouse in Denmark and an entire New York city block—we’ve learned something about what makes an office space great,” the company writes. “And we’re excited to put that into practice, starting here at our home in Mountain View.” reads Google’s introductory post.
