Unreal. That is the first word that swims around our heads when we look at images of Google’s new offices in Tel Aviv.
While some plebes schlep to work amid carpet covered cubicles and everlasting beige, Google’s employees have an indoor orange grove reminiscent of Jaffa’s longstanding industry, a wall covered in a giant giclée of the Negev desert, a dining room that mimics the city’s effervescent cafe culture and even a meeting room that pays respects to local surfers.”
What’s more, these offices are not relegated to just one floor of the Electra tower. Instead, there are eight all decked with the same playful, mostly nature-oriented decor that has catapulted Camenzind Evolution‘s reputation as a leader of the interior design world.
Designed by Camenzind Evolution with input from local design firms Setter Architects and Studio Yaron Tal, Google’s new offices in Tel Aviv are so darn cool it hardly seems fair. And yet, like most of the corporation’s biggest offices in cities around the globe, they were designed with some sense of sustainability in mind.
Already one of the “greenest” towers in Tel Aviv, the Electra was constructed with non-toxic materials, has facilities that permit grey water recycling and partially relies on renewables to cover its reduced energy requirement.
Now the tower’s green image has received a significant boost with Google’s spectacular interiors, which are expected to achieve LEED Platinum.
This comes on the heels of a recent announcement that electric vehicle manufacturer Better Place has entered into a $4 million deal with Elco Holdings Ltd. to provide 125 Renault Florence ZEs that will be distributed to Electra Ltd. and Electra Consumer Products Ltd.
Each floor is designed to correspond with some aspect of Israel’s multihued identity, be it the cafe culture, its vibrant markets or the laid back beach scene. And work, somehow, does get done despite the casual environment.
Unconventional spaces are set aside for brainstorming and creative collaboration, while more traditional desk space is used for dedicated, individual work time.
“Only 7 of the 8 rented floors in Electra Tower are actually occupied by Google,” according to Office Snap shots.
“The remaining floor gives space to a new ‘Campus’, which was also opened in December by the Israeli Prime Minister. The ‘Campus Tel Aviv’, powered by Google for Entrepreneurs, is a new hub for entrepreneurs and developers, providing a base for start-up companies, and is only the second Google ‘Campus’ worldwide.”
All photographs by Itay Sikolski
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
