Google’s Bay View campus achieved LEED NC v4 Platinum certification and has attained the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge (LBC) Water Petal Certification. As a part of this project, OLIN helped transform the site into a resilient landscape with ecological biodiversity.
Bay View consists of two office buildings and an event center, along with 20 acres of open space. The space blends indoor and outdoor elements, and occupants are drawn visually and physically from their desks to the outdoors and into the diverse natural areas designed for water stewardship, recreation and ecological restoration — all with views of the Bay.
Bay View was designed to meet the LBC’s definition of net water-positive, with all the site’s non-potable water demands met using the recycled water generated on-site. There are stormwater management ponds where the water can be drawn down and combined with treated wastewater from the building to create a sustainable, on-site source of recycled water. This recycled water is also reused to irrigate the landscape, which is not only beautiful but also enhances local habitat and ecology.
The campus is composed of a series of gently undulating landscape forms, ponds, and accessible nature paths until it meets a marsh on the northernmost boundary.
In the heart of the campus, the landscape over structure courtyard unifies and connects the three buildings as the campus crossroads amidst groves of trees and California-native plants. This area provides clear circulation and ample places for daily outdoor meetings and work – while a nearby deck offers a place for events.
A palette of native plants, carefully selected from the regional nurseries for beauty and biodiversity provides natural areas for wildlife. With much of the site’s recreational trails accessible to the general public and adjacent to the San Francisco Bay Trail this restorative landscape benefits the wider community.
