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Google's new California offices bank on in-person work

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Google Inc., employees stage a walkout in their call for a safe workplace outside the Googleplex on the Google Corporate Campus Headquarters in Mountain View, California, USA, 01 November 2018. John Mabanglo, EPA-EFE/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/06/13/google-inc-epa-efe.jpg"/><figcaption>Google Inc., employees stage a walkout in their call for a safe workplace outside the Googleplex on the Google Corporate Campus Headquarters in Mountain View, California, USA, 01 November 2018. <em>John Mabanglo, EPA-EFE/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>CALIFORNIA, United States - Roofs coated with canopy-like solar panels and indoor spaces awash in sunlight: Google has bet big on in-person work with its sprawling new Silicon Valley offices.</p><p>AFP visited Google&#x27;s 1.1 million square foot (100,000 square meter) campus on Monday as the tech giant welcomes employees back after pandemic-era telecommuting.</p><p>&quot;Luckily, a lot of the things we were already planning kind of set us up for success with Covid,&quot; said Michelle Kaufmann, Google director of development for built environments.</p><p>&quot;Thank god, because otherwise we would have built these buildings and we would have to change,&quot; she added.</p><p>The campus spans 42 acres (17 hectares) of leased federal land next to NASA&#x27;s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, close to the company&#x27;s headquarters.</p><p>It includes an event center and small apartments that employees from out of town can use when visiting for work.</p><p>Ventilation systems in the buildings use 100 percent outside air, a plus against the spread of Covid-19.</p><div><strong>&#x27;Not going empty&#x27; </strong></div><p>Ground floors feature cafes, fitness centers, meeting rooms, social spaces and playful touches such as multi-colored stationary bikes that people can pedal as they chat, with the option of plugging in to charge devices with power they generate.</p><p>Upper floors of the two story structures are home to desks, with furniture and fixtures easily reconfigured as teams want. </p><p>Work areas are divided into &quot;neighborhoods&quot; with homey touches and even &quot;courtyards&quot; with cozy furniture.</p><p>&quot;The ground level is really like a market, so it&#x27;s more the vibrant.&quot; Kaufmann said.</p><p>&quot;Upstairs is more the quiet space where the teams really do a lot of their work,&quot; she added.</p><p>Bay View campus is planned to accommodate 4,500 workers, with move in to take place during the coming weeks. </p><p>Solar panels provide power, geothermal systems aid with heating and cooling and water collection and recycling systems result in surplus that is used to help restore wetlands on the property.</p><p>Google expects a norm going forward for people to typically work from the office about three days a week, with that rhythm changing depending on phases of projects and, of course, the tempo of the pandemic.</p><p>&quot;I don&#x27;t believe that any of our buildings are going to be empty, that is not a problem that we are worried about,&quot; Kaufmann said.</p><p>&quot;We are more worried are we going to have enough space, just because the company is still growing,&quot; she added.</p><p>Google has more than 45,000 employees in the Silicon Valley area.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/03/15/22/life-coach-shares-tips-on-return-to-office-anxiety">Feeling anxious about returning to the office? Life coach shares tips</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/03/28/22/wfh-to-wfo-how-companies-should-break-it-to-workers">Return-to-office anxiety is real—here’s what companies and employees can do</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/03/21/22/big-business-groups-firms-back-return-to-office-policy">Major business groups, companies back return-to-office policy</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1967528" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Roofs coated with canopy-like solar panels and indoor spaces awash in sunlight: Google has bet big on in-person work with its sprawling new Silicon Valley offices.