14 DAY TRIAL // Google is already one of the biggest tech companies in the world, in terms of revenue and market value, but it's still adding new people at a fast pace. It needs a place to put all those new people, its current headquarters have some headroom, but only so much.
The company has been thinking about expanding its main headquarters in Mountain View for a while now and do something it hasn't done before, build new digs.
One project, started in 2011, of a futuristic and green building complex has been abandoned, but Google is working on another project, dubbed BayView, with Seattle-based firm NBBJ.
The new site isn't as close to its existing headquarters, but Google wanted it to be closer to San Francisco, presumably to make it easier to commute.
Vanity Fair was able to get some details about the new building complex and what Google wanted. The nine buildings will create 1.1-million-square-foot of space.
At first glance, they don't seem as futuristic as Apple's spaceship, for example, but there are plenty of Google touches in the details.
For one, Google started the project by looking at data, something it's wont to do, analyzing how people interacted, what they wanted from the office space, what layout would be the most flexible.
The idea is to make it easy for everyone there to talk to each other, no employee is more than 2.5 minutes away from another thanks to the bent shape of the buildings and the bridges that connect them.
Google is also maximizing the space, half the buildings will have solar panels fitted on the roof, but others feature green roofs with cafes, walkways and so on.
It's nothing Google hasn't done before, in fact, the new buildings look very much like the company's existing headquarters, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Google offers some of the best places to work in the world, doing more of what works isn't necessarily a bad thing. The company is also building its own airport nearby.