Google opens new campus as tech giants hire less

Connection and disconnection

Several companies like Twitter, in San Francisco, left the door open to telecommuting since many engineers prefer that modality. Some companies are having a hard time bringing teams back in-person, particularly due to fears of Covid.

“I think 10% of (Google’s) staff chose and managed to work from home,” said Michelle Kaufmann, director of research and development for Google’s offices, during a press visit.

Kaufmann hopes that the new offices, conceived long before the pandemic, will satisfy the other employees who divide their week between face-to-face work and remote work.

The facilities have restaurants, cafes, fitness and meeting rooms, around several “public squares”. In addition, they do not have walls so that there is a connection between the teams, indicates the architect.

Google hopes to separate teamwork and creativity so that more solitary tasks can be done at home.

Construction took five years and had ambitious environmental goals. Alphabet aims to be carbon dioxide neutral by 2030.

The new campus is 90% time neutral, thanks to solar panels and geothermal batteries. Recycled water is used for anything that doesn’t require drinking water.

The ventilation systems use 100% air coming from outside, instead of the average 20% of standard offices.

“Fortunately, many of the things that we anticipated work wonders in relation to covid,” says Kaufmann. The virus “accelerated” processes, he maintained.