From “Inside Google’s $2.1B Office in a Transformed Freight Terminal | WSJ Open Office” by The Wall Street Journal
Inside Google's St. John's Terminal Office in Manhattan
A 1934 freight terminal becomes a flexible Google workplace.
Key points
- Google paid $2.1 billion for St. John's Terminal, a 1934 freight train terminal, and added nine floors on top of it to make an office of more than one million square feet. 0:04
- Google's stated aim is to design the workplace for needs that cannot yet be anticipated, so the building uses large, flexible floor plates, heavy floor loading and tall ceilings. 0:19
- Unlike Google's other US offices, this one is built around its global business organization, so the people working there are business professionals rather than engineers, and the design makes room for client meetings. 2:45
- Half the floor space goes to team 'neighborhoods' and the other half to shared spaces such as work lounges, cafes, terraces and micro kitchens, and the video argues that every space should be built for work. 5:22
- Walls are demountable: a custom room system developed with Gensler and DIRTT lets one eight-person meeting room become two four-person rooms, or two two-person offices, as team sizes change. 4:28
Words the video explains
- Neighborhood — A 'neighborhood' is a team's own area of the office with a mix of fixed desks and informal workspaces, configured by the team itself. 3:51
- Biophilic design — Design that connects people to nature, here through native plants and open garage doors. 6:43
- Ground-scrapper — The architect's playful term for a building that is wider than it is tall, in contrast to a skyscraper. 1:44
In order
- 1. A freight terminal turned workplace — The video introduces Google's newest office, built inside and on top of an almost century-old rail terminal. 0:00
- 2. History of St. John's Terminal — The building was built in 1934 as a freight train terminal, and the architects cut through it to connect West Houston Street to the waterfront. 0:42
- 3. Built for business teams — Unlike Google's engineering-focused offices, this one houses global business professionals, with relaxed furniture and the Share restaurant for clients. 2:38
- 4. Movable neighborhoods and rooms — Each team configures its own neighborhood, and a demountable room system lets meeting rooms change size as needs shift. 3:30
- 5. Connection to nature and the city — Garage doors open to outdoor space, and the team says the building is integrated into its neighborhood rather than introverted. 6:40
- 6. Google's New York footprint — The terminal makes Google's New York footprint the second largest after Silicon Valley, and the modular design may be reused elsewhere. 8:00
The argument, point by point
Tour through the terminal
- 1. A freight terminal turned workplace — The video introduces Google's newest office, built inside and on top of an almost century-old rail terminal. 0:00
- 2. History of St. John's Terminal — The building was built in 1934 as a freight train terminal, and the architects cut through it to connect West Houston Street to the waterfront. 0:42
- 3. Nine new floors on a long building — CookFox added nine floors on top of the rail terminal, creating a building longer than it is tall, with large floors suited to flexible work. 1:40
- 4. Built for business teams — Unlike Google's engineering-focused offices, this one houses global business professionals, with relaxed furniture and the Share restaurant for clients. 2:38
- 5. Movable neighborhoods and rooms — Each team configures its own neighborhood, and a demountable room system lets meeting rooms change size as needs shift. 3:30
- 6. Every space is a workspace — Shared lounges, cafes and terraces are built for work, and about 1.5 acres of native plants bring nature into the building. 5:22
- 7. Connection to nature and the city — Garage doors open to outdoor space, and the team says the building is integrated into its neighborhood rather than introverted. 6:40
- 8. Google's New York footprint — The terminal makes Google's New York footprint the second largest after Silicon Valley, and the modular design may be reused elsewhere. 8:00
Details worth a second look
- Original rail terminal tracks — Black-and-white view of the 1930s terminal with rail tracks running into the building under the arches.
- Green-walled cafe with watering cans — A green-walled shared space with shelves of watering cans and potted plants next to a wooden booth.
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