A giant G that stands in front of the front door. Multicolored bicycles perfectly aligned and with the seal of Google while a green guy with Android and astronaut clothes welcomes us from behind the glass. There is no doubt that we are in the land of the Californian internet giant, in front of a modern building with a wave-shaped roof that contrasts with the historical site.
“Here we have designed a building from A to Z”, they tell us when we arrive. “This is the first Google campus to come out of the blue with our recommendations and our wishes.” Welcome to Bay View, just a stone’s throw from the Googleplex, the original headquarters, as well as other nearby pieces of land, which make up the massive, sprawling campus. In Mountain View, California, Google is king, as is Apple with its Apple Park and Apple Campus in Cupertino, or Facebook/Meta in Palo Alto.
Nature at the heart of it all
In front of us, right next to the NASA research center that dominates its former land, is a site of more than 167,000 m² divided into three buildings (around 100,000 m² of offices) located around a central Agora square. This is where employees go at all hours to eat or drink their coffee while enjoying the sun. A tunnel allows you to go from one building to another from below without going out. There is also a housing building for visiting employees, an events center, as well as infrastructure to supply Bay View with renewable energy.
Opening in May 2022 and capable of accommodating up to 4,500 employees, Bay View hopes to eventually bring together employees from several current sites. Telecommuting has the consequence of operating a hellish rotation of offices that are never permanently occupied. There is plenty to fill.
The project began in 2017 with the idea of designing a versatile, ecological, spacious site open to nature. This last point is evidenced in the very large windows that adorn each set of offices. “Our buildings want to be energetically positive”, continues our guide for the day. “Baie View is 100% electric to reduce carbon emissions and this scalloped roof will also integrate a unique solar cladding that generates 40% of annual electricity. The site also has nearby wind farms to supplement needs.”
With the San Francisco Bay in view, water and nature were central to the design. The grass is cut only once a year and animals are free to roam and local plants grow. Stormwater management ponds are distributed on site to allow their use in buildings whose roof is also structured to collect water. Non-potable water is also recycled, filtered and used, in particular for sanitary facilities.
“We are also water positive on the site,” celebrates one on Google. And to heat the premises, a geothermal system has been installed using large pipes that, depending on the needs, will cool or heat the premises. All while using 90% less water to heat the facility. It can even be done depending on the area and occupation.
Color codes and hidden innovation
Inside, each building is spread over two levels: on the first floor, there is a large open space, under a very high ceiling to circulate air and light. The ventilation system is also achieved through large openings at landing level that house self-managing fans. The ground floor is occupied by cafeteria spaces, meeting rooms and individual cubicles. Everything follows a color code for a better identification by zone (with a name linked to nature in one of the buildings, animals in the other), interest of the space (grey for the laboratories, black for the toilets, blue for the elevators , etc.) and a street order to help you orient yourself more easily. The rooms are then named in alphabetical order from north to south.
One thing stands out: for a technology company, there is no amazing innovation or technological installations in every corner. Neither scandalous display of house services. The place is meant to be cool and relaxing, bordering on contemplation.
Another sister site, Charleston East, located nearby, is finishing its work. It uses the same design with its very high ceiling, both for environmental and ecological reasons and to sanctify an important precept at Google: the feeling of belonging to the same community. Bigger spaces than before and bigger to also reflect this philosophy, as well as a strategy that encourages employees to discuss and collaborate.
Compared to the old sites, sometimes more visually marked, but in delimited areas, the Google Bay View campus sees everything bigger, more striking. As if to reflect both the gigantism of the company and to show itself as a haven of peace in the middle of nature and also meet the criteria of a generation of new employees to seduce. The one who spends less time at work with the rise of telecommuting, but who the company still wants to show a cool side to also retain increasingly volatile employees.
Source: BFM TV
