Google’s “Landscraper”

WHAT: Google are currently building a new ‘landscraper’ in London – a big new office building where their departments can all work together in the same building, rather than being compartmentalised across London. The new workplace will be centred on open spaces and collaborative hubs, with a large rooftop garden, swimming pool and volleyball courts amongst others. The aim is for members of the workforce to interact casually, and for these interactions to breed creativity: the spaces are designed so that work can be performed anywhere, and that all meeting areas are reconfigurable.

SO WHAT: The world’s corporate giants are redesigning their offices around activity-based, open spaces and de-siloed departments, with the aim of breeding creativity. Workplaces are meant to be places where employees will be comfortable, and increasingly workplaces are catering to the desires of their employees. There is less focus on quiet/individual workspace, and more on group settings, showing the changing demands of a workplace: people can be at home if they want to work alone.