Hygge at scale.
Blitz partnered with Google to implement a redesign of spaces within the open office that meet Google’s goals of a workplace that enables teams to collaborate, do focused work, and innovate.
The design solutions break down visual barriers within the workplace and create open informal meeting areas with key points of intersections on each floor. The removal of wall partitions and semi-enclosed nooks allow daylight to penetrate into the interior areas of the floor plan and present a clear visual connection between adjacent open office spaces. A phased approach was implemented, in which two floors were transformed at a time, while the campus was fully functional.
GOOGLE TECH CORNERS
LOCATION
Sunnyvale, California
SIZE
Phase 1 - 400,000 SF
Phase 2 - 326,000 SF
SCOPE
Architecture
Interior Design
Furniture Design
Environmental Graphics
PHOTOGRAPHY
Marco Zecchin
To instill a sense of ownership for the teams occupying the spaces, the design team established residentially-inspired environments that create an immediate sense of comfort. Each ancillary area is distinctive in its design, yet maintains a consistent vernacular across the buildings through textural and layered materiality. These spaces specifically bring the outside in, acting as hubs on each floor, and mimic comfortable living rooms and outdoor courtyards.
A variety of seating options—informal living room space for collaborative brainstorming, comfy lounge chairs for focused work, flexible furniture with integrated whiteboard surfaces—allow users to use the spaces according to the type of work they need to get done. Blitz specified approximately 800 pieces of furniture throughout the two buildings. To further enhance the bespoke qualities of each collaboration zones, the design team layered the spaces with curated decor items, artwork, and easter eggs that playfully enhance each area’s distinct qualities.
While variations in finishes, furniture, and lighting provide each collaboration space with a distinctive identity, the spaces are tied together by a series of open wooden trellises.
The trellises direct the user through the spaces and establish clear way-finding across the floor. By creating a distinctive shift in the ceiling condition, the trellises create a sense of enclosure and intimacy in the collaboration spaces without restricting access to daylight or views.
The success of the project related to the skillful coordination between the design team and various consultants. Blitz, whose immersive and nimble process is more reflective of its Silicon Valley tech clients’ than that of a traditional architecture firm, utilized Google products to make coordination efficient and effective.
