Inside Google's Massive Headquarters

[Music] we all use its services every day it answers our most bizarre questions you're even watching this video using the company's video streaming platform we're talking google or more importantly it's bank busting silicon valley headquarters a short walk from the san francisco bay area and a stone's throw away from other multinational headquarters like apple park and the homes of facebook ebay and netflix sits the 26 acre site on which we find googleplex based in mountain view the google headquarters gets its name from a play on words most evidently it's a combination of google and complex but spelt a little differently googleplex is an incredibly large number with lots of zeros after it the latter explanation is probably a hint towards google's global monopoly and its incredible successes the land was purchased from silicon graphics the creators of jurassic park's famous dinosaurs maybe that's why a dinosaur still looks over the complex today for the first time ever google didn't move into buildings that were inhabited by previous tenants the multinational firm this time around took matters into its own hands and employed south african architect clive wilkinson it was said that teamwork and creativity topped the mood boards in wilkinson's office when designing the giant google complex both firms came together to design a space which was not only set up to boost productivity but also workforce satisfaction this can be seen with fun lava lamps and even giant screens showing live google search terms from around the world a nod to the company's most famous asset oversized whiteboards plaster some walls full of creative ideas and uh not so creative anonymous jokes and many of the lobbies are home to pianos welcoming the next musician who dares to play an incredible amount of glass was used in the construction of googleplex which boosts natural light and offices are arranged in workspaces of three or four people these little clusters are said to be effective for sharing and developing ideas but are small and independent enough to reduce office chatter it seems that google has perfectly balanced the best of both worlds insider photos show workstations decorated with various google and android paraphernalia and from what we've seen they seem to house some serious productivity employees are there to work but the company doesn't want them to feel that way staff are treated as friends with access to an incredible amount of facilities we've all heard of an on-site gym that's nothing new but the company also offers swim in place swimming pools these are designed to reduce the footprint needed by allowing swimmers to swim against an artificially generated current various ping pong billiards and foosball tables are dotted throughout the campus with spaces to kick back and enjoy some video gaming too google even has its own self-contained pots which are used by staff members to kick back and relax or to distance themselves from their surroundings in order to get down to work on some heavy tasks what about outdoors after all california weather is supposed to be among the best in the world google has that covered too tennis courts soccer fields and other outdoor spaces for fun frisbee games are all totally free to use for staff these are all interlinked by a network of private footpaths health is looked after by on-site medical staff and luxury is provided by a company subsidised massage service a haircut salon a laundrette and dry cleaners the list goes on in fact rumor has it that team members bring their laundry in over the weekend to avoid having to use their own machines the best part about it traveling between these amenities is all done on google colored bikes it's even reported that many employees are given a 20 portion of their work time to focus on side projects unrelated to their usual workload promoting and inspiring creativity pays off google says that's how many of its labs projects were dreamt up self-sufficiency was key to the googleplex although not fully some of the complex's energy requirements are met by on-site solar panels which were carefully placed across the building's roofs some of the fruit vegetables and herbs eaten in the company's cafeterias are even grown in one of the park's two gardens which themselves are accredited by an educational society whose aim is to teach people about the benefits of horticulture many scientists and psychologists have commented on the benefits of getting outdoors for our mental health and as you'd expect tech giant google recognizes these benefits with mindfulness spaces strategically placed around the complex utilizing spaces like the food gardens oh and one last perk food are you sitting down because this isn't for the faint-hearted google provides its staff with food and a lot of it entirely for free workers can enjoy breakfast lunch and dinner at the site's various cafes free of charge including at charlie's place the main cafeteria which was named after google's first lead chef charlie ayers nowadays the restaurants focus on food that is fresh organic and healthy those buddha bowls all that smashed avocado on toast that you see on instagram these are the sorts of meals being dreamt up by head chefs which include a fusion of the world's foods we imagine a wide variety of dietary requirements are considered when planning the menus at the googleplex but google employs real people they're not all robots and these real humans get hungry between meals just like you and i the solution every single workspace is within walking distance of an entire snack room which is stocked with treats like granola candy and hot and cold drinks the novelty of consistently eating out may have worn off for many of the company's more seasoned members of staff but kitchenettes are always nearby with essential amenities like microwaves kettles and fridges an unwritten saying among the company's workforce is the google 15 which refers to the 15 pounds of weight that new starters often gain with all this free food in fact we don't actually know how much the company spends on feeding the entire campus but one blogger ran some calculations and came up with a figure of at least 72 million dollars each year traveling to and from the expansive site employees are likely to catch a wi-fi enabled diesel-powered bus other members may take to the roads in their own cars after which they will find one of two thousand parking spaces underground or maybe the staff want to plug their electric cars into the power points supplied under a solar panel topped carport any visitors to the site will be quick to notice the fun aspects that google injected here and there an army of android statues populate the main outdoor area a kitkat and a gingerbread man to name just two of course the green android character features as well as various spin-offs such as the metal android statue popping out of the android buildings upper floor what did all this cost this site alone cost the firm around 1 billion and that was in the same year as the 2.4 billion dollar acquisition of the new york chelsea market let's not forget the astonishing amount of money likely spent on food and other maintenance work and this works out to be one of the world's most expensive headquarters what do you think of the tech giant google's fusion of home and work balance would you work in such a place with its incredible benefits or do you value time spent away from work one thing's for sure though if for nothing else this place is good for a visit as an insight into what the future may hold

Channel: Tech Vision

Views: 1,951,498

Rating: 4.9147625 out of 5

Keywords: google, google headquarter, google hq, google mountain view, google california, work at google, google jobs, where is google hq, day in the life google, google office, google office cost, google engineer, googleplex, googleplex cost, where is googleplex, google san francisco, alphabet inc, google headquarters, google headquarters tour

Id: Z-pT0XDYvDM

Length: 6min 30sec (390 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 18 2020