Google Unveils Concept Plans For Futuristic, Next Generation North Bayshore Campus HQ
For a company as forward thinking and advanced as Google, even something as seemingly mundane as redeveloping a campus can elicit a nerdgasm. That's because Google isn't sticking to traditional architectural design as it looks for approval to redevelop part of its campus in North Bayshore. Instead, Google tapped a design studio to help it improve upon modern construction, and the renderings so far are absolutely beautiful.
"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," Google stated in a blog post.
This isn't a matter of Google putting form over function, either. Though the renderings show some fancy design ideas, each one has a purpose. For example, large translucent canopies that cover each site will allow Google to control the climate inside while still letting in copious light and air. And instead of constructing traditional immoveable concrete buildings, Google and its design partners have come up with lightweight block-like structures that can be easily moved around as the company invests in new product areas.
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"With trees, landscaping, cafes, and bike paths weaving through these structures, we aim to blur the distinction between our buildings and nature," Google added.
"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," Google stated in a blog post.
This isn't a matter of Google putting form over function, either. Though the renderings show some fancy design ideas, each one has a purpose. For example, large translucent canopies that cover each site will allow Google to control the climate inside while still letting in copious light and air. And instead of constructing traditional immoveable concrete buildings, Google and its design partners have come up with lightweight block-like structures that can be easily moved around as the company invests in new product areas.
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"With trees, landscaping, cafes, and bike paths weaving through these structures, we aim to blur the distinction between our buildings and nature," Google added.
In a way, Google isn't just upgrading its campus, it's creating a world within a world. In the image above, you see a creek that runs alongside a picturesque pathway, but what you don't see is the consolidated parking structure hidden below the landscaped garden.
"By consolidating parking, traffic congestion is reduced in the area, making it safer and more attractive for people to walk and bike," Google explains.
"By consolidating parking, traffic congestion is reduced in the area, making it safer and more attractive for people to walk and bike," Google explains.
So, what are the downsides? For locals that live in the area, they fear the rising costs of living that these types of projects bring to the area.
“Prices are rising. We are becoming less and less affordable to lower and middle income. We’re also seeing local businesses that have been here for decades being priced out,” Suzanne Jones, a City Council member, told the The New York Times in December after approving a plan to let Google build a four-acre campus where the company would have enough space to quintuple its workforce.
“It puts a finer point on this issue of, where are we headed? Attracting big business is great, on the one hand, but it will be part of that change on the other," Jones added.
In other words, gentrification, a buzzword that's usually attached to San Francisco. It's a topic that undoubtedly will be talked about as Google pushes to get its proposal approved.
"Today, we want to create office spaces that don’t just provide a great home for Google, but which also work for the city that has given us so much. We look forward to working with our neighbors at the City Council on this proposal—and the future of Mountain View’s North Bayshore," Google said.
“Prices are rising. We are becoming less and less affordable to lower and middle income. We’re also seeing local businesses that have been here for decades being priced out,” Suzanne Jones, a City Council member, told the The New York Times in December after approving a plan to let Google build a four-acre campus where the company would have enough space to quintuple its workforce.
“It puts a finer point on this issue of, where are we headed? Attracting big business is great, on the one hand, but it will be part of that change on the other," Jones added.
In other words, gentrification, a buzzword that's usually attached to San Francisco. It's a topic that undoubtedly will be talked about as Google pushes to get its proposal approved.
"Today, we want to create office spaces that don’t just provide a great home for Google, but which also work for the city that has given us so much. We look forward to working with our neighbors at the City Council on this proposal—and the future of Mountain View’s North Bayshore," Google said.
