As a huge tech company, Google may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of deconstruction, salvage, reuse and reducing building waste. But as we all know, Google are actively working on a lot of things and these topics are no exception.
Obviously, Google is huge and with that size comes a lot of office real estate and the furniture, fixtures and fittings that goes with it. The company is working to minimise the material impact of that office space and has it’s own furniture and fittings warehouse that it uses to hold and repurpose these when it takes on new office space.
When soft stripping is required, Google have used contractors such as Deconstruction & ReUse Network to access markets that are not immediately available, helping make materials available in regional towns as well urban areas.
We visited Googles offices in Sunnyvale, California. Its cool, interesting and vibrant, exactly as you would expect. But behind these buildings is a major effort to create leading edge buildings. They are currently developing a 1 million square feet site in Mountain View, California. As well as having a futuristic design, the project Is a Living Building Challenge design. Google Sustainability Associate Lauren Sparandara explains that with a building this size requiring 7,000 materials, it is a substantial task to meet Living Building requirements.
But Google are obviously the kind of company that does its homework and have been active in research issues of sustainability. A link to some of these pieces is below.
Visiting Google is as 'Googley' as you would expect. It is cool and inspiring with a vibe you can feel. They may not be the first people you would associate with deconstruction and construction waste minimisation but it will be well worth watching that space.
Thanks to Lauren Sparandara for inviting me to visit Google.
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/living-building-challenge-2022/
https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/google
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