“As if conquering the Internet weren’t enough, Google has a new wonder in the works: a space-age structure that could be the greenest office building of all time.”
Here’s more info: www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=9809&e=y
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Looks more blue and white to me.
@...RSIxidor: So Fah-nee
Wow it looks beautiful. Me like.
How can they call this green? It’s located in the middle of nowhere, and is therefore only accessible by car. The crappy suburban location negates your so-called “greenness.”
If you can tell me that this is actually a small block in the middle of a dense, highly-walkable, mixed-use neighborhood with transit access, then I will retract that statement.
Not too likely, from the look of it.
@...AustinDav: Did you read the article?
It will be built in a central area of Silicon Valley. Google provides insanely convenient shuttle services for employees.
As it is, most areas of California require driving… period. San Francisco is the only city in California that residents can *easily* survive without a car and even then the shared car business is very popular. That google provides convenient mass transit for employees is pretty awesome.
@...dieAntagonista: I think it’s very interesting. I look forward to seeing it in person (it will be 10-15 minutes drive from my house (without traffic)).
Google has had a positive impact on the area. They feed their employees and they buy the food from local farmers. Their buildings already use solar technology to lower the amount of electricity they’re using. This building, if it happens, seems like the logical next step for a company like Google.
hmmm, just read the article. We’ll have to see the quality of the mixed-use design around it….
I’ve seen many mixed-use developments that don’t do much for real-life walkability, but I think if google is involved with the development of the entire area, and green is their goal, there’s hope.
Sorry outofocus, I didn’t see your link there. It was just my gut reaction to the siteplan, with a single building in a park-like setting, which stems from a suburban, modernist ideal of man-in-nature. Its a nice Utopian idea in theory, but in practice it normally translates into car-destroys-nature.
I still don’t like the siteplan much for this reason. Sure it looks nice, but a greenfield campus doesn’t often mesh well with a lively urban environment, so the rest of their development needs to be built extremely well to compensate.
But again, I haven’t seen the rest of their plans, so we’ll see.