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Since Google’s founding, we’ve wholeheartedly believed that the success of our company rests in the hands of our workers. It’s why we’ve been focused on designing our spaces for Googler, happiness and collective well being. At Gradient Canopy, this user-first mindset extends to one of the big design ideas we used to organize the interior space: splitting the building across only two floors. Here, desks and team spaces sit on the upper level, with a series of indoor “courtyards” that connect them to amenity spaces on the ground level containing conference rooms, courtyards, and all-team spaces.

The workspaces on the second floor were designed with sustainability, adaptability, and focused work in mind. The entire upper level is made up of prefabricated rooms, walls, and furniture on casters. This allows for flexibility, where spaces can be easily transformed with zero waste since the same materials can be reused in new configurations. This floor also offers a vast area for focused work, while the downstairs floor offers collaboration spaces for mental and physical breaks throughout the day.

The indoor courtyards on the first floor of Gradient Canopy support our teams by helping to bring people together and making sure everyone has access to healthy, productive environments. In typical offices, you might see a variety of program elements and amenity spaces mixed together with desk spaces. A total of 20 courtyards with open stairs connect the two levels, giving easy access to amenities while also serving as multipurpose areas which teams can use as multiuse, flexible space.

Besides helping separate focus areas from high-activity zones so folks can do their best work, the courtyards also offer biophilic benefits and help Googlers recharge during the day. We know that the best designs reflect the deep affinity between nature and human health, so we incorporated biophilic design principles into Gradient Canopy to create a place where people will thrive. Biophilic designs offer a variety of spaces that promote multisensory stimulation, similar to what one experiences in nature. The courtyards help encourage the physiological benefits of physical movement when circulating between levels, giving people new pathways through the building that can stimulate their brains and spark creativity throughout the day. They also help draw daylight down from the clerestory windows into the lower level, which helps support healthy circadian system functioning.

The design of the indoor courtyards also links Gradient Canopy to its larger context and helps connect people to place. Each of the courtyards is inspired by one of four different biomes, or natural habitats, common to our Bay Area home: Ocean, Bay, Foothill and Redwood. These thematic biomes also assist in wayfinding, as the building is organized into four quadrants with each assigned a different biome.

In the courtyards, the biomes serve as thematic drivers for the color palette, art, furniture and finishes in each space. Many of these elements are experiential and immersive, contributing to a sense of placemaking and providing moments of surprise and delight for staff throughout the day. For example, in the Ocean biome, one courtyard called ‘Buoy Bay’ is inspired by the movement of light reflecting on the ocean’s surface. In the Redwood biome, another courtyard named ‘Clover Camp’ is adorned with floor graphics of Redwood sorrel clovers, referencing the fields of clovers that thrive on the forest floor. For many of the courtyards, we worked with local artists to create site-specific art installations that spark creativity, curiosity and inspiration.

Ultimately, the courtyards serve a range of day-to-day functions for Googlers. Besides encouraging movement and offering multisensory experiences, they also double as wayfinding devices, helping folks orient themselves in the building in a way that is playful and meant to inspire. Finally, by grounding the designs in elements of the natural environment, the courtyards help the building relate to its context, reminding users that they are deeply connected to nature, even when inside.