Googleplex

The original campus

SGI campus

The site was previously occupied by Silicon Graphics (SGI). The office space and corporate campus is located within a larger 26 acre site that contains Charleston Park, a 5 acre public park; improved access to Permanente Creek; and public roads that connect the corporate site to Shoreline Park and the Bay Trail. The project, launched in 1994, was built on the site of one of the few working farms in the area and was city owned at the time (identified as "Farmer's Field" in the planning documents).[1][2] It was a creative collaboration between SGI, StUDIOS Architecture, SWA Group, and the Planning and Community Development Agency of the City of Mountain View, California. The objective was to develop in complementary fashion the privately owned corporate headquarters and adjoining public greenspace. Key design decisions placed parking for nearly 2000 cars underground, enabling SWA to integrate the two open spaces with water features, shallow pools, fountains, pathways, and plazas. The project was completed in 1997. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) noted that the SGI project was a significant departure from typical corporate campuses and which challenged conventional thinking about private and public space, and awarded the project the ASLA Centennial Medallion in 1999.[3]

Google campus

The former SGI facilities were leased by Google beginning in 2003.[4] A redesign of the interiors was completed by Clive Wilkinson Architects in 2005. In June 2006, Google purchased some of Silicon Graphics's properties, including the Googleplex, for $319 million.[5][6]

Because the buildings are of relatively low height, the complex sprawls out over a large area of land. The interior of the headquarters is furnished with items like shade lamps and giant rubber balls and the lobby contains a piano and a projection of current live Google search queries. Facilities include free laundry rooms (Buildings 40, 42 & CL3), two small swimming pools, multiple sand volleyball courts, a bowling alley, massage rooms, organic gardens, and eighteen cafeterias with diverse menus. Google installed replicas of SpaceShipOne and a dinosaur skeleton.[7][8]

Since 2017, solar panels cover the rooftops of eight buildings and two solar carports, capable of producing 1.6 megawatts of electricity. At the time of installation, Google believed it to be the largest in the United States among corporations. The panels provide the power for 30% of the peak electricity demand in their solar-powered buildings.[9] Four 100kW Bloom Energy Servers were shipped to Google in July 2008, as the first customer of Bloom Energy.[10][11]

The Android lawn statues were outside of Building 44 on Charleston Road, and were relocated on the Google campus at 1981 Landings Drive. They include a giant green statue of the Android logo and additional statues to represent all the versions of the Android operating system.

Bay View addition

In 2013, construction began on a new 1.1 e6sqft campus dubbed "Bay View", adjoining the original campus on 42 acre leased from the NASA Ames Research Center and overlooking San Francisco Bay at Moffett Federal Airfield. The estimated cost of the project was $120 million with a target opening date of 2015.[12][13][14]

NBBJ was the architect and this was the first time Google has designed its own buildings.[15]

The addition is off the northeast corner of the complex, by the Stevens Creek Nature Study Area and Shoreline Park. Before announcing the construction, Google, through its internal real estate firm, Planetarium Ventures, sought permission from the City of Mountain View to build bridges over the adjacent Stevens Creek.[16] 2012 year-end annual report noted it can develop only 7 acre of the 42 acre site.[17]

Google planned in 2015 a 60 acre addition designed by Heather wicked Studio and in North .[18] The site, however, was granted to LinkedIn by the city councilors and the Google project was revised in 2016, with 3 buildings to be built on 2 different sites east of Googleplex in Mountain View: one immediately next to Googleplex, and the two smaller ones a few blocks away.[19]

Google Visitor Experience

In September 2023, Google announced the Google Visitor Experience, a visitor center next to the Googleplex which occupies the building formerly known as Charleston East, and now known as Gradient Canopy. The visitor center includes a Google Store, a public plaza, a café, and public art, and opened on October 12, 2023.[20]