He told us: “It blew my mind. “And it made our team realize that the office planning was fundamentally flawed.” His realization was simple: Office design has long revolved around the layout of desks and offices, with the space between those areas serving as corridors and passageways. But this “despite focus,” as Wilkinson recalls, “damaged working life, trapping us into this form of rigidity.”
And so he set out to unleash it, shifting the focus of his designs to the work that took place far from the desk. In practice, this means designing stands and nooks in what used to be dimly lit hallways, and creating space between clusters of tables to encourage more teams to move. A dynamic office environment, ideas are given, can increase spontaneous encounters, which will then spark creativity. The design also allows private areas — many with comfy couches and plush otters to recreate the family room feel — for intensive work, away from the hustle and bustle of desks. .
The founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, are particularly excited about this brand new office space. During the first meetings, Wilkinson recalls, the pair’s design ideas were heavily influenced by their time at Stanford, where engineers tended to congregate in small groups and often flock to the same areas. remote part of campus for coding and group research. They wanted to merge the traditional office with the university environment, creating a space that encourages both collaborative and self-directed work. As a result, Wilkinson developed a design whose unifying goal — like that of a college campus — is self-sufficiency. That means flexible workspaces, designed to accommodate constantly changing teams and new projects, but it also means rich green spaces, mini-libraries, social hubs and “tech talk zones,” which Wilkinson later described as “areas along public roads… where virtually no-nonsense seminars and knowledge-sharing events would take place. “
To cater to this constant sharing of knowledge, the Googleplex has been equipped with an incredible array of amenities. Volleyball courts, valets, organic gardens, tennis courts, and ball courts are scattered throughout the property, which also includes a separate park dedicated to Google. Inside the Googleplex, workers have access to a variety of fitness centers and massage rooms, as well as numerous cafes, cafeterias, and self-catering kitchens. Unlike traditional corporate cafeterias, where food items are often lightly subsidized, everything at Google is free. In 2011, when the company had about 32,000 employees, the food service budget was estimated at $72 million per year. Since then, Google’s workforce has more than quadrupled.
In the words of Wilkinson, the design of the Googleplex was intended to allow “all the basics of your work life” to be met in one available space. As he saw it then, supporting workers with a creative, social environment – plus substantial perks, like meals and healthcare – is one means of fostering community engagement. true community and sustainable creativity. More importantly, it’s a compassionate, humane way for companies to treat employees who work long hours and build products designed to change the world.
Looking back today, Wilkinson is uncertain about that vision. Over the past two decades, his brilliant, innovative designs have spread throughout the architectural world, as large-scale technology firms and smaller startups have both brought elements of his team’s dynamic workplace for their space. And Wilkinson is increasingly aware of the insidious nature of those privileges. He told us at the end of 2020. “Making the work environment more residential and domestic is dangerous, and danger. It makes employees happy to say we will give you everything you like, as if this were your home, and the danger is that it blurs the line between home and office.”
