|
 The submission of the plan to the City Council in Mountain View,
California, which the company chose for its headquarters 15 years
ago, marks the first step in what city officials describe as a long
review process.
The new headquarters would give the Internet company the room for an
additional 10,000 employees, compared to the 20,000 Google staffers
that currently work in the city, a Google spokeswoman said.
Google's blueprint for new headquarters in the city's North Bayshore
district has gathered widespread attention because the design is
seen as architecturally innovative.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the plan also is closely watched due
to concerns the technology industry's high salaries are pushing
housing prices beyond levels affordable to most families.
"Today we’re submitting a plan to redevelop four sites - places
where we already have offices but hope to significantly increase our
square footage - to the Mountain View City Council," David
Radcliffe, Google's vice president of real estate, said in a company
blog post.
The design by architect Bjarke Ingels of the firm Bjarke Ingels
Group and Thomas Heatherwick of architecture and design company
Heatherwick Studio calls for block-like structures that Google says
could be moved around to create space for teams to pursue different
projects. It would add about 2.5 million square feet of space to the
existing campus.
Vast, clear canopies over the buildings would allow light to filter
into the futuristic campus. There would be places for trees, grass
and bicycle paths, all of it nestled into different parts of the
campus.
[to top of second column] |
"They're very ambitious," Mountain View City Councilman Ken
Rosenberg said of the blueprints. "They're taking what we know about
building design and significantly advancing the concept."
The proposal by Google, which is the city's leading source of
property taxes, would contribute to more local prosperity but also
increased traffic, he said.
Rosenberg said he views the company's proposal within the plan to
build 100 units of affordable housing as an acknowledgment to
housing market problems.
The city could demand more housing units in the North Bayshore area,
he said.
In 2013, Cupertino approved Apple Inc's plan for a spaceship-like
campus, which is under construction.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco, Writing and
additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Diane Craft)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
