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Why Google’s new Bengaluru office is built like a web of neighbourhoods
Summary
Google India’s new campus in Bengaluru focuses on sustainability and accessibility while living up to its name in design philosophy
When you see it from a distance, the new Google India campus on Bengaluru’s chaotic Outer Ring Road does look like the infinity symbol. With a curved, rounded structure, both in the outer walls of the building as well as the roof, the building creates an impression of the endless loop. In a sea of boxy, angular buildings, this one, named Ananta, which means the infinite, stands out for its gracious form; modern, minimal and striking at the same time.
We are inside Ananta for an introduction and tour of the building, which was launched recently. It is one of Google’s largest offices globally, complementing the company’s three other campuses in India, in Hyderabad, Gurugram and Mumbai. The office, spread over 1.6 million sq.ft, can comfortably accommodate 5,000 workers—to put that in perspective, Google currently has around 10,000 in India.
Even before you walk into the building on the ground floor, a feeling of space and greenery envelopes you—all the more stark because of the contrast with the space right outside the building, where flyovers and metro pillars and broken pavements seem to stretch into another sort of infinity altogether.
Much as it is a pity that this sort of respite from urban ugliness is not accessible to everyone, one can’t help but feel calmer the minute one steps into Ananta’s entrance area, a cavernous space called the Sabha, dominated by an amphitheatre-style tiered seating space. The rest of the structure is built around the Sabha, which acts as a central meeting place or courtyard, evocative of traditional Indian building formats.
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“The beauty of Ananta is that it brings builders from various different areas together. We have thousands of people who are collaborating with every team in the world, in every product area (within Google). Every solution that you hear about in public announcements, chances are you will have someone working on it here," says Anand Rangarajan, vice president, engineering and Google Bangalore.
We are taken on a (rather desultory, I must admit) tour of the campus once the opening ceremony is complete. Walking outside, our attention is first drawn to the facade of the building made of electrochromic glass, which allows natural light into a building without glare or excessive heat. “The glass tints up based on the path of the sun during the day and regulates temperatures inside naturally," explains Lavanya M.K., general manager (real estate and workplace services) at Google India, who is leading the tour. She next takes us to the mini forest that lines the outer wall of the campus. Called Aranya, the green space is dotted with dome-like seating areas in Google’s distinct palette of primary colours and has a quiet and secluded walking path as well, where the temperature drops by a degree or two as we step into it from the hot Bengaluru sun.
There are other nods to eco-consciousness in the building design and operation—it houses a water recycling plant, for instance, where 100% of the water utilised day to day is recycled and reused. There are also facilities for rainwater harvesting and most of the material used in the building has been sourced locally, claims Google.
We are next taken to the back of the building, where there is a wellness and recreation centre—alas, we don’t get to go inside but are told that it houses sporting facilities and several courts for games like basketball, pickleball and badminton. There is an “acupressure path" outside this area with cobblestones and plants—and we are told that it is all part of an attempt to be “wellness-focussed" within the campus.
A rather quick tour of the building inside reveals workspaces built along fluid lines, with the rounded curves of the exterior being reflected in the way workstations are clubbed and connected. The theme that the designers kept in mind was that of a neighbourhood, the way one would ideally be built and structured. “When we started designing a workplace of this scale, it was very important to find ways and means of getting people together. Every workplace is like a network of neighbourhoods, which enhance collaboration while allowing for individual, focussed work," explains Lavanya. The hives of individual workstations—most are in plain, neutral colours—are occasionally broken up by meeting rooms and smaller individual units (presumably for taking calls in private or doing intensive work) in bright colours.
The work areas, like most of the building, also have an accent on accessibility, with tactile flooring that can help visually impaired workers navigate the maze of workstations using their canes, sensory rooms, and the incorporation of Braille in signage. The campus includes a truly impressive 10,000 sq.ft fitness area/gym—one that could give any high-end gym in the city a run for its money and can be used by Googlers for free. We are also taken to the communal dining area—Google campuses are famous for their multi-cuisine food courts, after all—but this is also rather a quick peek and we don’t get to try anything from any of the counters that are currently operational.
What will Googlers in the building mostly work on? There is a hint in what Preeti Lobana, vice president and country manager, Google India, says during her speech at the launch event: “The new Ananta campus in Bengaluru marks a significant milestone in our journey, marking the technological paradigm shift underway with AI. Looking ahead, I see us focused on some core areas: empowering businesses and individuals through widespread AI adoption, ensuring AI transformation doesn’t stay on the margins of the economy but creates impact in its systemic areas such as agriculture, health and fintech."
In other words, like AI itself, the uses to which this space are likely to be put are indeed ananta.
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