The proposal for Charleston East integrates and respects nature, fosters a sense of community, and reflects Google’s culture of innovation through bold architecture and infrastructure. Our goal is to create a highly flexible workplace that can not only adapt to Google’s evolving business needs but can also become a destination for the local community.

The Charleston East site is in a unique position within North Bayshore, located at the junction between the key Gateway Boulevards, and within the general character area but bordering the ‘Core Area.’ Our proposal reflects the value of this location and responds to the surrounding neighborhood. Nestled between urban area to the south and natural frontier to the north, the site embeds itself by extending those existing characters onto the site. Set in a larger landscape, the design creates new public and private spaces by adding man-made topographies that define paths and connect the site to what sits around it.

Mountain View has a clear vision of business and nature coexisting, which will help sensitive species thrive in Shoreline Regional Park. Google shares this vision, and the Charleston East ecosystem is designed to benefit from informed, committed stewardship, with natural surroundings that invigorate the workplace and the neighborhood.

The ground level consists of a collection of pavilions with a public Green Loop that cuts through the building where it will be open to the public during typical park hours of dawn to dusk. Cafes and shops line the artery to create a bustling social and retail destination open to both Googlers and the wider public. Smaller circulatory paths between the pavilions provide quieter and more intimate spaces for collaboration and private conversation.

Set above these pavilions is a stepped office floor where Googlers can be spatially and visually connected. However, office furniture and partitions on the upper level are designed to be highly flexible and reconfigurable. As a two-tier building, desk spaces are located above the noise and activity of meeting rooms and cafes, minimizing distraction and interruption for the workers above.

To provide environmental protection and daylight control across such a large space, a lightweight canopy is held up by a grid of delicate-looking tent poles. Between each catenary panel, natural light will seep through clerestories to illuminate the interiors. Fabric-clad ceilings will soften the light and attenuate noise inside. Vertical curtain walls on all four elevations will enable daylight to flood the workspace and provide employees with views outdoors.