Google found a new site for its Googleplex, despite losing a land bid to professional network LinkedIn, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. The alternative building, which will still be designed by Danish firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and London-based Heatherwick Studio, is similar to the space-age, glass-roofed designs we saw back in February. However, it will be built on a much smaller scale east of the web giant’s current headquarters.
In early May, the Mountain View City Council gave 1.4 million square feet of the desired 2.2 million to LinkedIn. The 13-year-old company requested for about 1.6 million square feet for a site which includes multiple office spaces, a theatre, retail spots, and a health club. Google was given about 515,000 square feet—which would accommodate one of the four parts of the campus they originally planned on.
Despite this loss, which Daniel Radcliff, vice president of real estate and workplace services for Google, called “a significant blow,” they are still pursuing the expansion of its campus within the Mountain View region.
On May 29, Google submitted plans to build the smaller headquarters, dubbed Charleston East. The proposed 595,000-square-foot space would be built on a 18.6-acre site that Google has leased since 2007. This is the first time Google has pursued any development within this environment, and it would be about one-fourth of the size of the original designs.
