Google Campus Virtual Tour
Hey there! Welcome back to another Virtual Tour! I hope you are going to love this one because I know I did. This time I am going to take you on an exclusive virtual tour of the Google Headquarters, or Googleplex, in Mountainview, CA. If you have ever seen the movie “The Internship” then you already have a good amount of insight about the place. It was super hard to get you such insider access because the Google Headquarters have a ton of security. I’m sure they have a lot of secrets to keep safe in their buildings. Nonetheless I hope you are able to get a good feel for what the Googleplex is all about. Enjoy!
Googleplex
Googleplex has more of a meaning than just “Google” combined with “complex”. It also refers to the number googolplex, which is the large number 10 to the 10th power to the 100th power. That is gibberish to me, but it sounds like one of the biggest numbers in the world!
Google Campus Visitor’s Center
The Google campus starts at the Google Visitor’s Center. This is where visitors can check in. It is also equipped with a Google merchandise store. You may be thinking of the classic merchandise like t-shirts, hoodies, and hats, but that’s not all. This store is fully equipped with Google products like cell phones, routers, Chromecast devices, Pixels, Nest products, and more!
Android Park
Outside of the Google Visitor’s Center we have to stop by Android Park, which is on our way to the main Google Campus. Android is one of Google’s biggest brands and there are statues of the Android robot in different forms all over Googleplex. Google’s Android Park has a statue for every version of Android that has been made by Google. There are also different variations of funny and even tasty Android robots. There is a Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich, Donut, and even a KitKat Android. To me it sounds like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!
Google Campus Facilities
The Google Campus gives you the vibe of a college campus but mixed with a playground. The architects wanted to make it feel young and jubilant to go along with Google’s philosophy of “creating the happiest and most productive workplace in the world”!
The main campus is made up of four buildings, Google buildings 40-43. In the middle of these buildings is a courtyard with a lot of green space. There are picnic tables, lounge chairs, fields, and a volleyball court. There is also a sculpture of a t-rex to look after the place, which is most likely a tribute from the old company that worked on this campus. Before Google, the campus was owned by Silicon Graphics, who created all of the dinosaurs in the classic movie “Jurassic Park”.
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Transportation on Google Campus
The Google Campus is so big that they offer their own form of transportation to get from building to building. Google bikes, or G-Bikes can be found in many places around the campus and “Googlers” use them to get from building to building, or to and from the parking lot.
Inside a Google Building
Let’s see if we can get a sneak peek into one of the buildings. They are very strict about letting in visitors, so we have to find someone we know or get an invitation. Oh hey! There’s a girl I went to college with, lets see if she’ll let us in.
Continuing our Google Campus Virtual Tour, let’s head into Building 43, the original Google office. As we walk into the lobby you can tell we are not in a typical office environment. Lava lamps all over the place give off some groovy vibes and I am all for it!
Right as you walk in and look up there is a huge computer screen that displays Google search terms as they are searched in real time. Walking around the halls you can tell that this place is super unique and definitely unlike any other office. There are pianos in the middle of the halls just in case any worker wants to let out their inner Beethoven for the rest of the office to hear. There are other crazy decorations such as a replica of Space Ship One hanging from the ceiling.
As you can imagine, you are not going to find the typical office cubicle setup in here. Google designed the office space to incorporate creative workstations all over the place where small groups of people can meet and collaborate. There are Native inspired wood pods that can fit about four people, for example.
The designer of the Google Campus designed the office space with all glass enclosures so the maximum amount of natural light could be let in. This also cuts down on the ambient noise, while keeping the open environment feel. You can find giant whiteboards all over the walls filled with things like creative ideas, intense calculations, or just a funny office joke.
You can take the stairs up to the second floor, but you most likely will not be taking them down. Remember when I said the Google Campus felt like a playground earlier? I was not just saying that. There are actual slides to get down from one floor to the other. Yes slides, like you would use at your elementary school playground.
Google Campus Cafés and Meals
Google employees enjoy many perks of working at the Google Campus. On the campus as a whole there are more than fifteen cafeterias and restaurants. Meals at the Google Campus are prepared by world renowned chefs that are the best in their field.
The main café, and also the biggest, is Charlie’s Place. Charlie’s Place is named after Google’s first head chef, Charlie Ayers. Charlie Ayers was the personal chef to the Grateful Dead before he came to Google. Pretty cool if you ask me!
A lot of the food cooked and consumed on the Google Campus was actually grown over at one of the two food gardens. That way chefs can prepare nothing but the freshest meals possible.
Can you imagine being a gardener on the Google Campus? There are so many cool jobs that you would never even think to exist.
What job would you want to have on the Google Campus? Let me know in the comments!
The best thing about all these food options is that they are all free. Google serves its employees three meals a day FOR FREE! How awesome is that? That brings me back to the days on my college campus when I could eat as much as I could for a single “swipe”. That’s probable why I put on the famous “freshman 15”. And Google even has a term for that… it is the “Google 15”. This place is starting to feel more and more like college.
Another fun fact about the Google Campus is that you are NEVER more the 100 feet from some sort of food. Even though Google provides employees with three free meals a day, they still provide other food and snacks for free in Google micro-kitchens. Google micro-kitchens are places all around the campus specifically close to where Googler’s work. Google really understands that their hard workers get hungry even in between meals.
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Google Campus Perks
Employee perks do not just stop at free food. The Google Campus boasts a ton of amenities to keep their employees happy and healthy.
If you happen to get bored of work, you can run over to one of the few arcades on campus and play games like pool, foosball, or an old school arcade game. There are often team games that happen on the outdoor fields such as soccer, volleyball, or if you have seen “The Internship” then you know how much they love to play quidditch.
Googleplex has services like a barbershop and salon for employees to get their hair cut. It has a couple gyms on campus, both indoor and outdoor. The Google Campus also has two infinity pools, which are small pools that shoot a strong current of water at you so you can swim in place. Do not worry, lifeguards are on duty at all times.
Speaking of health and safety, Googleplex has a full service on site medical staff. Employees are provided an almost full coverage healthcare plan. If they feel ill or just need their annual checkup, an employee can schedule an appointment with a doctor right on the Googleplex campus.
In the same wing as the medical staff, Google provides its employees with a subsidized massage program. Employees can get a massage, for a small fee, from a licensed professional therapist. This is one of the only perks that is not exactly free.
The Google Campus also has its own laundry and dry-cleaning services. Employees can typically be found bringing in their dirty clothes on the weekend to avoid doing their own laundry. That is probably the perk I like the most so far!
What do you think your favorite Google perk would be? Leave a comment below!
On Our Way Out
As we finish our Google Campus Virtual Tour, be sure to wave goodbye to the metallic Android hanging from Building 45! I know we did not get a chance to visit each building on the main campus, but by going into Building 43, you get the vibe for what the rest of the buildings are like.
There are more than 20 buildings on this one Mountainview, CA campus alone. These buildings encompass about 3.1 million square feet of office space throughout the campus! That is insane! That just goes to show how HUGE of a company Google is. They really are a tech GIANT!
Running a campus this big must take a lot of power. You can not see from here, but on the roof of eight different building you can find solar panels completely covering them. These solar panels alone can produce 1.6 megawatts of electricity. That can run a large portion of Google Campus’s total electricity consumption.
Do you think you could ever work at Google? Let me know in the comments!
As we head back to the parking lot, let us take a gBike for fun! It will be a nice way to cap off our tour and see the outside architecture of the buildings!
The Google Campus is such a cool place, I will definitely be coming back. Even though I am not an employee here, I feel like I am back in school AND at Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Not many places can give you that same feeling! This place is like a children’s museum for adults. It is one of the most unique offices in the world and the brightest of people work there.
Thank you for tagging along on this Google Campus Virtual Tour! I had an awesome time showing you around Googleplex and cannot wait for our next adventure together!
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About The Author: Sean Boyle
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