Ikea meets Lego: Google redesigns its office space. – The New York Times

Before the pandemic, Googles sprawling campus of airy, open offices and whimsical common spaces set a standard for what an innovative workplace was supposed to look like.

Now, the company is creating a workplace for the Covid era, with a concept perhaps best described as Ikea meets Lego.

Instead of rows of desks next to cookie-cutter meeting rooms, Google is designing Team Pods. Chairs, desks, whiteboards and storage units on casters can be wheeled into various arrangements, and in some cases rearranged in a matter of hours. It is building outdoor work areas to respond to concerns about the coronavirus.

At its Silicon Valley headquarters, it has converted a parking lot and lawn area into a camp, with clusters of tables and chairs under open-air tents. The area is a fenced-in mix of grass and wooden deck flooring about the size of four tennis courts with Wi-Fi throughout.

David Radcliffe, Googles vice president for real estate and workplace services, said that while moving more than 100,000 employees to virtual work last year was daunting, now it seems even more daunting to figure out how to bring them back safely.

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Ikea meets Lego: Google redesigns its office space. - The New York Times