Google updates plans for 'circus tent' office complex in Mountain View, CA

Dive Brief:

As the next step toward building its new "Charleston East" Mountain View, CA, office complex, Google has submitted revised drawings to the city for approval, according to SiliconBeat.
The updated plans feature an opaque "futuristic circus tent" structure that will house 3,000 employees in a total of 600,000 square feet, Building Construction + Design reported. The new complex will tie into the company’s existing Googleplex headquarters, also in Mountain View.
Google submitted its original Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) design for the complex last year after its plan to extend the Google complex was rejected. The most visible difference between this and the earlier design is that the translucent canopy has been replaced with the opaque "tent."

Dive Insight:

Although the complex's "topper" design is different, it retains the ability to regulate the air quality, sound and climate of the complex, according to BD+C. Other features of Google’s new office include photovoltaic solar panels for renewable energy, clerestories to bring in natural light, landscaping with native ecologies and bird-friendly design elements specifically to keep them from flying into the structure. Google is also aiming for LEED Platinum certification.

Aesthetics aside, the local business community is reportedly breathing a huge sigh of relief that there is still building and expansion momentum among the Bay Area’s major tech players.

"The main tech players are doing well," real estate broker Chad Leiker told Silicon Beat. "The leaders will continue to lead, even if there is some fallout and consolidation for some smaller firms. The big tech companies like Google and Apple are positioned to grow. They will continue to expand into new offices and hire more employees."

Mountain View has been plagued, like many other Bay Area cities, with a lack of housing. Google has supported efforts to add more units in Mountain View, and the tech giant will likely build most of it since its employees dominate the city and roads. As office space is also at a premium, Google has suggested that whoever builds most of the new housing should get first dibs on any office space that comes available. Google also has said that it would choose to integrate below-market-rate housing in whatever it builds rather than pay an alternate 10% fee.