Welcome to the Googleplex: Internet giant to build $120m futuristic HQ with a garden on the roof (and no employee will be more than 2.5 minutes walk from a co-worker)
- Huge expansion of 1.1-million-square-foot Google HQ has started and is scheduled for completion in 2015
- Google analyzed employees' needs and habits for new building
- New campus will encourage 'casual collisions of the work force'
- Apple is also building a 2.8 million square feet, 13,000-employee campus
Google has planned the massive expansion of its California HQ to ensure that its employees are more pampered than ever before.
The company's real estate team analyzed vast amounts of data on everything from sunrise and sunset, wind direction, working patterns and daily habits to design the Googleplex around staff needs.
The internet giant has broken ground on the 1.1-million-square-foot campus in Mountain View, which is scheduled for completion in 2015.
Worker friendly: At the new Googleplex (pictured) no employee will be more than a 2.5-minute walk from one another
According to civil engineer David Radcliffe, speaking in Vanity Fair, the redesign 'started not with an architectural vision but with a vision of the work experience.'
This is the first time the company has worked on office buildings from scratch rather than remodifying premises built by others. The 42-acre expansion is designed by Seattle-based firm NBBJ.
It is built with energy conservation in mind. The new campus will be the biggest office complex in the U.S. with all radiant heating and most employees will be able to work with natural light..
Perks: Google offices, like the current HQ (pictured), are well-known for their facilities such as cafes, roof gardens, laptops attached to gym equipment, pool tables and bowling alleys. The new Googleplex will be better
Current design: The current Google HQ is already very impressive and follows the colours of the company's logo
Chill out: Last year's glimpse inside Google's headquarters came as the company planed the radical revamp of its HQ
Impressive: Google's offices are well-known for their perks such as gourmet cafes, roof gardens, laptops attached to gym equipment, pool tables and bowling alleys
The complex, also known as Bayview, will be made up of nine boomerang-shaped buildings, most standing at four stories high.
The blocks are arranged to create courtyards and meeting places around the HQ. Many of the buildings have gardens, green spaces and gathering areas on their roofs. All of the structures will be linked by bridges, and cars will be hidden underground.
The Googleplex will house impressive facilities. Google's offices are well-known for their perks such as gourmet cafes, roof gardens, laptops attached to gym equipment, pool tables and bowling alleys
Rival: Like the Google's new HQ, the new Apple offices (pictured) are designed to attract the best talent in Silicon Valley
View from above: An overview of Apple's proposed headquarters
'We designed this from the inside out,' Radcliffe explained in Vanity Fair. As a result, the layout is meant to encourage what the firm describes as 'casual collisions of the work force.'
'You can't schedule innovation,' the Google employee told the magazine. 'We want to create opportunities for people to have ideas and be able to turn to others right there and say, 'What do you think of this?'
Radcliffe says no Bayview employee will be more than a two-and-a-half minute walk from any other worker.
Other technology giants are also improving their offices to ensure that they can attract the best talent in the competitive Silicon Valley job market.
Apple is currently building an environmentally friendly, futuristic 2.8 million square feet, 13,000-employee campus in Cupertino.
Meanwhile, Facebook is creating a 'Main Street' of stores, restaurants and facilities at the center of its campus in Menlo Park.
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