Iwan Baan
Google Bay View is Google’s first-ever ground-up campus with the mission to operate on carbon-free energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week by 2030. The buildings deliver on Google’s ambition to create human-centric, sustainable innovations for the future of Google’s workplace and scalable, replicable solutions for the construction industry and beyond. Located on a 42-acre site at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, the 1.1 million sq ft Google Bay View Campus brings three new buildings, 20 acres of open space, a 1,000-person event center, and 240 short-term employee accommodation units to the area. All three buildings are constructed as lightweight canopy structures optimized for interior daylight, views, collaboration, and activities. Anchored in three themes defined by Google’s design brief at the beginning of the project - innovation, nature, and community - the design is driven by flexibility and extraordinary user experience that inspires collaboration and co-creation. Team spaces are on the upper level and gathering spaces are below, separating focus and collaborative areas while still providing easy access to both. The second floor design has variation in floorplates to give teams a designated “neighborhood” area that is highly flexible to change with their needs. The site has achieved a LEED-NC v4 Platinum certification - making it the largest LEED v4 BD+C: NC Platinum certified project in the world - and has become the largest facility ever to attain the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) Living Building Challenge (LBC) Water Petal Certification. Bay View operates entirely on electric energy. The integrated geothermal pile system at Bay View, which is the largest in North America, is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by roughly 50% and will help both heat and cool the campus. The massive geoexchange field is integrated into the structural system, reducing the amount of water typically used for cooling by 90%, equal to 5 million gallons of water annually. To help deliver on Google's commitment to replenish 120% of the water the HQ consumes by 2030, the site is net water-positive with all non-potable water demands being met using the recycled water it generates on site. The on-site systems built by Google collect, treat, and reuse all stormwater and wastewater and provide habitat restoration, sea level rise protection, and access to the beauty of natural wetlands for both Googlers and the public on the nearby Bay Trail.
BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group
