Google has just unveiled plans for its new Mountain View, Calif., campus—and they don't skimp on the sci-fi. The designs, by architects Bjarke Ingels at BIG and Thomas Heatherwick at Heatherwick Studio, feature transparent, biodome-like buildings, bike paths, running tracks, meadows and a babbling brook—along with a public plaza with retail space for shops and cafes.
The company explains on its blog:
The idea is simple. Instead of constructing immoveable concrete buildings, we'll create lightweight block-like structures which can be moved around easily as we invest in new product areas. (Our self-driving car team, for example, has very different needs when it comes to office space from our Search engineers.) Large translucent canopies will cover each site, controlling the climate inside yet letting in light and air. With trees, landscaping, cafes, and bike paths weaving through these structures, we aim to blur the distinction between our buildings and nature.
Of course, this project is about much more than just office space; it's about doing more with the local community as well. So we're adding lots of bike paths and retail opportunities, like restaurants, for local businesses. We also hope to bring new life to the unique local environment, from enhancing burrowing owl habitats to widening creek beds. And we're committed to do everything we can to save energy—our recent agreement to offset our energy consumption in North Bayshore with renewable energy includes the development of this proposal.
Check out more of the artist renderings, and a video, below.
