Architecture firm D/DOCK has redesigned Google's Amsterdam office as being a place where employees feel like they're right at home. They've crafted a bright space that's both quirky and functional, aimed to meet Googlers' needs so they can work better. This includes supporting them both physically and mentally, with perks like a gym, meditation room, and desk bikes. The Healthy Food Program is available in the 80-seat cafeteria, whose decor alone will make you hungry. Its rounded drop-ceiling panels feature images of delicious-looking Dutch stroopwafels, while walls are covered with photographs of gingerbread.
The general concept for the 3,000 square meter office is the garage where founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin started Google. Its decor is a nod to this industrial-feeling space with graffiti walls, cardboard box lights, and exposed ceilings. While a real garage is typically dark, messy, and cold, D/DOCK has made the area warm, inviting, and fun. There are plenty of comfy cushions to sit on and games to play when employees need a break.
Each floor features “caves,” or zones where there are meeting and huddle rooms, video booths, and micro kitchens. Individual work-spaces are grouped in “neighborhoods,” and surround the caves. Everything is customized to represent various departments, and everyone is afforded a 180-degree view that overlooks the city. D/DOCK's design allows for Googlers to work together in a diverse and exciting environment, while maintaining their personal space at the same time.
D/DOCK website
via [URDesign]
