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At Moffett Field — behind two security checkpoints, past the NASA’s Arc Jet Complex and a stone’s throw from one of the world’s fastest supercomputers — is the Bay View site, the largest construction project Google has yet attempted.
By 2019, the location will be built into a 1.1 million square foot campus of canopied domes and futuristic offices. But during a Tuesday tour of the site, what Google’s team really wanted to talk about was digging holes. Thousands of holes.
A small army of construction workers and machinery were drilling down into the earth to prepare the foundation for what they say will be the largest geothermal system of its kind in North America. This system — using what are known as ground-source heat pumps — is expected to provide nearly all the heating and cooling needs for the future offices, with the exception of the gas burners in the kitchen.
This geothermal system is the centerpiece of what Google officials say will be a minimal environmental footprint for the campus. Compared to a traditional building design, Bay View will save 8 million gallons of water normally used for cooling, about 50 percent less carbon emissions. They’ll also be saving a lot of energy.
“Reinforced concrete is our radiator, if you will, to exchange heat with the ground,” said Eric Solrain, a lead Bay View construction engineer. “We’re using the ground to pull heat up in the winter; or putting heat back in the ground in the summer.”
That’s what the 2,500 holes are for. Each one is about 80 feet deep and filled with wet concrete. Before it hardens, construction workers and cranes drop in a length of rebar wrapped in tubing. All those tubes will eventually be linked together to comprise 69 miles of pipes running below Bay View, circulating water to control indoor temperatures.
This system of ground-source heat pumps is an established technology, but it’s been relatively rare in this part of the world, Solrain said. He listed a Seattle office complex and a Calgary airport that employ similar systems, albeit at a fraction of Bay View’s size. The mix of structural configuration and building area has to be just right for this kind of system to make sense, he said.
As he and other engineers examined the concept, they decided they could add their own innovation by integrating the heat piping right into the structural pylons of the buildings. It wasn’t easy to design, but they marveled at the synergy once it was planned out.
“We saw there were all these cascading benefits for this kind of thinking,” said Asim Tahir, who is leading systems design at Bay View. “We fully intend to share our lessons from building this … there’s a lot of tricks people have observed here on the ground and these are important to share.”
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From the back of the home, the balcony extends from the master bedroom. The great-room pavilion opens to the lap pool, and a view of heritage trees. Photo by Matthew Millman Photography. -
The kitchen island is topped (and waterfalled down the sides) with Italian Staturetto marble over Makore (African cherry) cabinets. Wolf appliances, including an electric-induction cooktop and two ovens, are joined by a SubZero refrigerator and Bosch dishwasher. Photo by Matthew Millman Photography. -
Floor-to-ceiling windows and doors bring the outdoors in, much like in an original Eichler home. Photo by Matthew Millman Photography. -
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Rental Housing Committee member Tom Means. Voice file photo by James Tensuan
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They’ve been doing this at the Shoreline site as well. I thought maybe they were reinforcing the filled land for a better foundation.
By the way, is any housing going to be built there, or will everybody have to commute in?
Are they sure 80 feet is deep enough? Most of the land is probably old bay silt. Then the water table is at 30 feet below. The pylons used for most buildings ended up being 100s of feet long to reach bedrock.
You know that Moffett Field is a Superfund Site, don’t your? The toxic plums are underground.
Sounds really cool! It’s amazing how primitive residential HVAC still is.