I think I should point out that this is traditionally a sign of a peak of a company, sometimes called the Edifice Complex.
It does seem not unusual that, at their peak, technology companies embark on a project that will eventually be their tomb. However, closer inspection reveals that this is really just survivor bias, as many companies continue on post tomb building. Apple built the Infinite Loop campus, Sun built its Menlo Park campus but really didn't "die" until after the Agnews complex was being built. Interestingly for me, they are…
Rethinking office space
121–129 of 129 posts
Re: Rethinking office space
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
Uhm, well, you might think so, but it does get really old. I worked at a place that was doing important work, and when I started I had a nice office on the 5th floor. It had a beautiful view. A couple of months later I, and the rest of the group, was moved to an underground office. Now, I don't mean basement. I mean the "company" had emptied out a huge underground oil bunker[1], built a false floor and interior walls…
When I worked for a large financial institution as a contractor, they moved me to floor negative 2. A few weeks later, they announced that my contract was ending. Then, a new project came up, it was un-cancelled, and I was moved back to being with the rest of the group. A year later, they moved me to floor negative 3. A few weeks later, they announced my contract was ending. So, being moved to the basement is a clear…
Re: Rethinking office space
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can object to it if you want, but it's a well known phenomena - starting to build buildings is often a bad sign for the company's long-term future prospects. And since we're talking about companies peaking, the size of the company isn't particularly relevant. It is, of course, not a universal law, but lavish new office spaces are one of those things that don't seem to go well.
Data centers are buildings. They've built a bunch of those successfully.
This happens to governments when they decide to build the "New City Hall". It generally goes really badly.
Re: Rethinking office space
#124I work at Google in MTV and this is very exciting to me. I think the higher-ups at this company have the vision to pull this off, I hope I stay engaged here long enough to see it. The real concern (which Google can't fully solve) is housing. If you add 10k or 20k more employees in these beautiful new offices, where do they all live? I guess Google could build apartments too but that's not ideal, I don't want to live…
Interestingly, a long commute is one of the most highly correlated factors with regards to people's happiness: http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/06/perils-commu... You may be happier living at work than you realize, (yes, I joke, but not as much as you'd think).
Recently I have found ways to keep my commute negativity way down. I started going into work earlier when the traffic is lighter And much more predictable. I leave at 6:50 and I'm in by 8:00. And I started using the time on the bus as time to read, which has been great. Having 3h a day to just read books means I am tearing through my 'books to read one day' list. Sometimes I even look forward to the bus ride, it's personal time for me.
Re: Rethinking office space
#125When companies are doing really well the corporate offices are too busy doing stuff to hire a starchitect and the company is growing too fast for it to make sense to literally set in stone how it should henceforth be arranged.
You tend to build a fancy new building when the company has stopped growing (so you know how big to make the building and how to lay out the various departments) and when the management staff is to some extent twiddling their thumbs looking for something useful to do rather than starting bold new projects. That sort of building signals the company is coasting rather than being dynamic. They are investing time and money and effort in a building because (unlike when they were growing) they currently can't think of anything better to invest that time and money in.
However, both Apple and Google are arguably exceptions to this rule.
In Apple's case, mitigating circumstances include that they've already survived building and moving into the "Infinite Loop" campus and a vast flood of architecturally-interesting Apple Stores. Their new campus - while impressive - is essentially iterative; it's doing something they've done before using skills they've successfully used before, merely on a larger scale.
In Google's case, their (goofy) design explicitly seems to anticipate LOTS of change and potential further growth and reorganization. They are not "setting in stone" the shape of the company.
And in both Google AND Apple's case, the companies have so much money and so many employees that it'd be stupid NOT to try to consolidate a bit at this point.
Re: Rethinking office space
#126The usual theory I've heard isn't so much that fancy starchitect headquarters cause the companies to fail. Rather, it's more of a signaling story. To wit: new headquarters say something about the kind of company you have, and what it says is usually a bad sign. When companies are doing really well the corporate offices are too busy doing stuff to hire a starchitect and the company is growing too fast for it to make s…
I see one guy with a laptop, and I suppose a few people could be trying to solve hard problems by walking around. But there is more yoga in those pictures than software development or customer service or anything that Google does for a living.
Re: Rethinking office space
#127It's interesting that Google's office plan is garnering a lot of negative feedback. When Apple announced a plan to make one giant office building to house its entire corporate workforce, the general consensus was positive. Even Cupertino's politicians praised its ambition and assumed wealth it will bring to the city. Has anyone been in Cupertino recently? It feels like almost every single office building in that city…
I imagine that the "mothership" building could probably be re-purposed into condos without too much hassle.
Re: Rethinking office space
#128Looks like want to cover big parts of mountain view with a see-thru tent, and turn north-of-101 into a new downtown. Life under the dome. I absolutely hate it.
Re: Rethinking office space
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interestingly, a long commute is one of the most highly correlated factors with regards to people's happiness: http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/06/perils-commu... You may be happier living at work than you realize, (yes, I joke, but not as much as you'd think).
In the hardcore-communist days of China the setup was usually: factory on one side, block of flats for workers on the other, school and hospital adjacent. The kids played in the courtyard. Actually not that bad of a setup...