{"id":12764,"date":"2025-03-14T13:30:52","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T20:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/living-future.org\/?post_type=case-studies&p=12764"},"modified":"2025-03-14T13:30:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T20:30:53","slug":"gradient-canopy","status":"publish","type":"case-studies","link":"https:\/\/living-future.org\/case-studies\/gradient-canopy\/","title":{"rendered":"Gradient Canopy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vital Stats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Certification Status<\/strong><\/td>Petal Certified<\/td><\/tr>
Version of LBC<\/strong><\/td>3.1<\/td><\/tr>
Location<\/strong><\/td>Mountain View, CA<\/td><\/tr>
Start of Occupancy<\/strong><\/td>October 2023<\/td><\/tr>
Occupancy Type<\/strong><\/td>Office, Retail<\/td><\/tr>
Owner Occupied<\/strong><\/td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Project Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Owner<\/strong><\/td>Google<\/td><\/tr>
Project Managers<\/strong><\/td>Project Management Advisors, Inc. (PMA)
Turner and Townsend<\/td><\/tr>
General Contractor<\/strong><\/td>Devcon Construction Inc. (DCI)<\/td><\/tr>
Architect<\/strong><\/td>Adamson Associates, Inc.
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
Heatherwick Studio<\/td><\/tr>
Landscape Architect<\/strong><\/td>Hargreaves Jones Landscape Architecture<\/td><\/tr>
Mechanical Engineer<\/strong><\/td>Arup<\/td><\/tr>
Electrical Engineer<\/strong><\/td>Arup<\/td><\/tr>
Civil<\/strong> Engineer<\/strong><\/td>Mott MacDonald (MM)
Sherwood Design Engineers<\/td><\/tr>
Lighting Design<\/strong><\/td>Fisher Marantz Stone (FMS)
Cool Shadow<\/td><\/tr>
Interior Design<\/strong><\/td>HLW International <\/td><\/tr>
Sustainability Consultant<\/strong><\/td>Introba<\/td><\/tr>
Acoustic Consultant<\/strong><\/td>Arup<\/td><\/tr>
Geotechnical<\/strong><\/td>Kleinfelder<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Google\u2019s Gradient Canopy office expands the boundaries of sustainable design with flexible workspaces, healthy and reclaimed materials, and public spaces the whole community can enjoy. Gradient Canopy is situated on an 18-acre site adjacent to Charleston Park in the North Bayshore area of Mountain View, CA. A pedestrian and bicycle path, part of the larger North Bayshore Green Loop, weaves around the southern portion of the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gradient Canopy represents one of the first developments where Google led the concept and construction, and provided an opportunity to take human-centered, sustainable design to a new scale. Circular design strategies were also implemented throughout the project, integrating regenerative and restorative materials. The campus’s site design prioritizes native habitat to help reestablish historical ecosystem elements that provide critical support for wildlife and build landscape resilience. Gradient Canopy is also home to the Google Visitor Experience, which is a public destination for everyone \u2014 neighbors, visitors, and Googlers. With a variety of programs and spaces designed to foster connection, the public spaces  aim to enrich and enhance a sense of community for everyone who visits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Place Petal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Photo Credit: Mark Wickens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Gradient Canopy project team leveraged the Place Petal to restore natural ecosystems and build biodiversity, connect employees to locally grown food, and encourage pedestrian and bicycle circulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the late 1800s, the site was developed into farmland and then sat as a vacant tilled field until construction started on Google’s Gradient Canopy office. Google worked to reestablish ecosystem elements once prevalent in Silicon Valley, such as oak woodlands, willow groves, chaparral, and grasslands. The landscape is composed almost entirely of native species, including approximately 400 native trees, nearly half of which are oak trees that were planted as a part of the Re-Oaking Silicon Valley initiative. The goal was to revive the area\u2019s ecological heritage and bolster the human experience, while creating thriving, functional landscapes for a biodiverse constellation of species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit: Mark Wickens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Google blended over four acres of native pollinator habitat with urban agricultural elements on site to demonstrate how native landscaping and gardening can work together for more resilient local food production. Google\u2019s Farm-to-Table Program, which leads on-site agriculture initiatives and community partnership opportunities, manages two demonstration garden beds that supply produce for Google’s cafes and teaching kitchens. The landscape also features three honey bee boxes onsite, providing education opportunities about honey harvesting and pollination. Googlers and their guests are invited to attend honey harvests and the honey is also used in Google’s employee teaching kitchens. As part of the site design process, ecologists studied how the landscape can support both native bees and non-native honey bees to benefit both native biodiversity and local food production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To encourage sustainable transportation choices and meet the intent of the Human Powered Living Imperative, Gradient Canopy offers ample secure bike parking as well as other amenities, including helmets for Googlers, on-site bike repair stands, showers, and lockers. Occupants also have access to Google\u2019s \u201cGBike\u201d program, which maintains a fleet of shared bicycles that are readily available on campus and can be used to travel between Google buildings or to reach shuttle stops on campus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Materials Petal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Throughout design and construction, the Gradient Canopy project team vetted every material installed in the building and onsite against the LBC\u2019s Red List, which represents worst-in-class chemicals that negatively impact human and environmental health. In total, the team reviewed more than 8,000 products, working closely with manufacturers to drive transparency in the building industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project team collaborated to achieve the rigorous goals set by the Materials Petal by exploring nontraditional material solutions and building relationships across the industry, from designers to manufacturers to tradespeople. During the vetting process for Gradient Canopy, the project team asked hundreds of manufacturers to provide transparency on the ingredients in their building products and to pursue third-party certification and labels that benefit the broader industry \u2013 particularly in areas where material transparency hasn\u2019t been commonplace. For example, the team worked with the manufacturer of the wood doors and frames throughout the building to attain a Declare Label, providing a healthier option on the market for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout construction, the project team procured over 99% of new lumber from responsibly managed forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), including wood used for temporary purposes and permanently installed lumber. Additionally, the building features more than 30 products from salvaged sources, including reclaimed wood, bike racks, lockers, carpet, and tiles that would have otherwise gone to landfill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team achieved the Net Positive Waste Imperative by creating and adhering to an ambitious Materials Conservation Management Plan, which outlined goals to reduce the environmental impacts from extracting, processing, and disposing of the project’s building materials from design through end-of-life. As of August 2023, the team diverted more than 90% of construction waste from landfills, and a closed-loop wallboard initiative recycled over 550,000 pounds of drywall waste.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit: Mark Wickens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beauty Petal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Google has called Mountain View home for more than two decades, and the Mountain View community is at the heart of the Google Visitor Experience. With the Visitor Experience at Gradient Canopy, Google aims to support local community organizations, small businesses, artists, nonprofits, and the Mountain View community as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the Google Store, Cafe, and the Huddle community space, visitors will find murals and artworks from local artists who are a part of Google\u2019s Artist in Residence program. Outdoors, visitors can explore life-sized art pieces facilitated by Burning Man Project<\/a>, with input from the local community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit: Mark Wickens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the help of the non-profit Burning Man Project, Google held a series of community listening sessions and design thinking workshops that invited the local community to offer input on the art that would create the most vibrant community spaces. Through these gatherings, community members shared stories of childhood adventure and curiosity, the role of landmarks, and a strong desire for things that are playful. Many hoped for interactive artworks that relied less on technology and more on tactile, hands-on experiences. As the culmination of this process, community members were encouraged to vote on the final artworks via a public website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The six public artworks embody the rigorous sustainability and healthy materials goals of Gradient Canopy, as each artwork is made from materials that are Red List Free and support zero-waste efforts. For example, \u201cCurious\u201d by Mr & Mrs Ferguson Art is a giant grizzly bear sculpture \u2014 the official state animal of California \u2014 whose fur is crafted from more than 160,000 pennies. Together, the public artworks offer moments of surprise and delight, creating places for the community and Googlers alike to gather, reflect and get inspired.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit: Mark Wickens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Explore the Google Visitor Experience<\/a> at Gradient Canopy to gain more insight into ecology, sustainability, and community features. From the native landscaping, the solar dragonscale roof, and public artwork, the Living Building Challenge reveals itself throughout the building and its surrounding natural elements.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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