There are some definite perks to working from home. There’s no cubicle to box me in, no commute, and therefore no transportation costs, and I can work in my pajamas if I feel like it. Tough to beat that. Tough, but not impossible.
Leave it to Google to provide a workplace more comfortable, creative and inviting than most people’s homes. The company’s new Israel office, which was designed by Camenzind Evolution, covers eight floors in Tel Aviv’s Electra Tower and bathes it in impressive design. The floors are decked out in different styles — from rustic or beachy to upscale urban or futuristic, and more. Tired of one aesthetic? No problemo. Just set your peepers out the window for an incredible view of the city, or shoot down the tunnel slide to a lower floor and soak in a totally different interior.
The tricked-out parts tend to be the communal and meeting areas, which were designed to encourage creativity and collaboration. And when you consider that almost 50 percent of the spaces were allocated as these “communication landscapes,” that’s quite a show of commitment to this concept. Of course, there are still cubicles. (Hey, it’s an office, not Disneyland.) But at least workers have a stunning workscape within reach, to really get those creative juices flowing. The space also houses restaurants, with kosher and non-kosher offerings, gyms, kitchens, even faux “outdoor” spaces and much more.
But that sprawling 85,000 square feet of business space isn’t just a pretty face: Google Tel Aviv is applying for LEED Platinum certification. If granted, it would be a first for Israel. The company also dedicated one of its floors to a Google “Campus” — a business hub dedicated to supporting and offering a base for start-ups. Powered by Google for Entrepreneurs, Campus Tel Aviv became the company’s second hub worldwide when it was opened in December by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
I thought Google HQ in Mountain View was cool, and it is, but this one might just take the cake. And there’s even more Google office porn, so if you feel like really ratcheting up the workplace envy a few notches, hit up the source link.
What’s your work space like? If you came here everyday, what areas would you frequent the most? (Hint: If the answer is anything other than the tunnel slide, you’re wrong.)
