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Google is changing course on its ambitious vision to create a new showpiece campus on its Charleston East property in Mountain View. According to new plans submitted to the city, Google is dropping the eye-catching dome shape, but retaining many aspects of the futuristic canopied design that drew international headlines.
The 18.6-acre site was originally intended as the first of a series of bubble-dome office complexes in Mountain View’s North Bayshore tech corridor, evoking the company’s innovative spirit through its architecture.
Architects Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Heatherwick’s original layout for Charleston East was quite avant-garde. Buildings under the canopy were loosely laid out in askew clusters, and a wide “Green Loop” public promenade with shops and cafes ran through the center of the dome.
In contrast, the architects’ new design looks more traditional, with offices and other buildings laid out in a grid pattern. No longer a dome, the new structure is shaped like a big square that appears to cover a larger footprint on the property. Like the original proposal, the two-story structure will be covered by a translucent photovoltaic canopy that would help power the site. The Green Loop walkway through the middle of the dome is conspicuously smaller.
The new plans show the company still is intent on making the new campus customizable with office furniture and partitions that can be moved around. No mention is made of crabots — the crane-like robots that company said could rearrange the interiors of the proposed dome buildings as needed.
Exact dimensions for the new design aren’t mentioned in the plans. The original plans called for 595,000 square feet in total office development.
The redesigned plans come after Google’s ambitious initial proposal, part of a contest for 2.2 million square feet of office development rights in North Bayshore, lost out to other projects. Google’s proposal essentially asked for the entire pie, but a split City Council voted last May to divvy up the development among several firms, with the lion’s share going to a LinkedIn project.
However, Google already had development entitlements in place for the Charleston East campus.
Google officials declined to answer questions about the new plans, but offered a brief comment.
“The proposal reflects our strong commitment to creating innovative workplaces that also benefit both the natural environment and local community,” a spokesperson said.
The Charleston East would be Google’s first major construction project in Mountain View. So far, the company has modified existing office building or leased space from other firms.
The Charleston East property is owned by the city of Mountain View, but Google has a lease on the site that runs through 2064.
GO – OGLE this new “showpiece” campus when it is complete
Dear Google, we thank you for all you have done for Mountain View, but aren’t there dozens of other cities besides SF in the Bay Area that you can build offices in? This will alleviate the stress on our little town and its housing. If you have offices in other towns, our traffic will decrease. If you have office buildings in other cities, people can live closer to work and will not have to commute so far to come to Mountain View. If you have office buildings in other cities, maybe our town will be able to keep its residents instead of driving up housing prices, pushing our families out and thus decreasing enrollment in our public schools. Look at Vallejo, they need a boost in their economy. What about other towns? What about Tracy, Gilroy or Morgan Hill? Macy’s has stores everywhere, why can’t you have more offices around the Bay to relieve the stress on our tiny town? Please think about it. Thank you.