Not to be confused with Googolplex

Facilities and history

The campus' landscape design was judged as one of the most significant of the century by the American Society of Landscape Architects in bestowing its ASLA Centennial Medallion in 1999, followed by the ASLA Centennial Award in 2000, and the ASLA National Honor Award in 2001.

The ASLA noted in 1999 that the SGI project was a significant departure from typical corporate campuses, challenging conventional thinking about private and public space.

The former SGI facilities were leased by Google beginning in 2003. In June 2006, Google purchased some of Silicon Graphics' properties, including the Googleplex, for $319 million.

Although the buildings are of relatively low height, the complex covers a large area. The interior of the headquarters is furnished with items like shade lamps and giant rubber balls. The lobby

In late 2006 and early 2007 the company installed a series of solar panels, capable of producing 1.6 megawatts of electricity. It is believed that this is the largest corporate installation in the United States. About 30 percent of the Googleplex's electricity needs will be fulfilled by this project, with the remainder being purchased. About one third of the panels will be in the form of "solar trees" mounted on poles above parking lots, with the remainder placed on rooftops.

The solar panel project went online on 18 June 2007. As of 21 June 2007 Google has installed over 90% of the 9,212 solar panels that comprise the 1.6 megawatt project.

Location

The Googleplex is located between Charleston Road, Amphitheatre Parkway, and Shoreline Boulevard in north Mountain View, California close to the Shoreline Park wetlands. Employees living in San Francisco or the East Bay may take a wifi-enabled Google subsidized shuttle to and from work. It is powered by domestically grown and processed biodiesel.

Neighbors of the Googleplex include ALZA Plaza and the Mozilla Foundation to the west; Shoreline Amphitheatre to the north; Intuit to the northwest and Century Theatres, Microsoft Corporation's Silicon Valley research complex, and the Computer History Museum to the south. Moffett Field lies nearby to the east.

In September 2007, NASA revealed that Google's founders had secured access to Moffett Field for their Boeing 767 and two Gulfstream Vs by paying a $1.3 million fee and allowing NASA to use the aircraft for scientific expeditions.

Prior to 7 September 1998