Over to you Ivy, what were you looking for in the selection of furniture, objects and materials for the Google Hardware Design Studio?  

IR: I looked for furniture that felt like an extension of our product -  simple understated shapes,  a lot of curves with a touch of fun (and optimistic). I was also looking to create different groupings of furniture that suggested different moods or ways to work or interact with others.

Materials that are sensorial in nature are what I was drawn to, reflecting our collective aesthetics and design principles of human, optimistic and bold.

What’s important to you when decorating your workspace? 

IR: It is very important for the Design Studio to showcase all of the teams’ work with  the environment of the building feeling coherent with the aesthetics of the products we design.

It should feel like an extension of what we are doing for the small scale of electronic products translated into an environment. In terms of my personal workspace, I like to choose colors and materials that make me feel good and I love to personalize that space with books and objects that inspire me. 

Philip - how did you participate in the process of shaping and furnishing the Google Seed Studio? 

PB: The design building as a whole was approached very differently than the rest of Google’s office spaces, as we got to start from a completely blank slate. The whole building was gutted, outfitted specifically to our needs and furnished with objects that align with our design approach – human, optimistic and bold. Each of the studio spaces inside the building were decorated by the team leads themselves and you can feel the vibe of the team by just entering the room. 

I wanted very specific pieces of furniture for our space, including a number of Muuto pieces, like the Folded Shelves, Compile Shelving System and the Fiber Chair, and a number of design pieces from Germany and Scandinavia that we loved and wanted specifically for this space.

A question for you, Ivy: How has Google, and you as a leader, approached remote working and getting people and creativity to thrive at the same time? 

IR: I feel that the ideal model is a hybrid one. There are times when we don't want any distractions and therefore working from a location outside the office makes sense — we can be very productive on our own in the space that we choose.  

However, there is no substitute for in-person collaboration when it comes to creativity and working with our engineering partners to make tradeoffs on a particular product design or to solve technical problems. Therefore I try to find a balance of when I call meetings in person vs online.

Which new demands does this put on the interiors of the workplace?  

IR: I continue to feel the interior design of workplaces needs to be more human, friendly and feel like the right mix of productivity, nurturing and inspiring at the same time.

Flexibility and inclusivity are the two words that come to mind when I think about the new demands in the workplace.

What does wellbeing in the workplace look like to you? 

PB: At Google we now offer hybrid work weeks where people split their time between the office and their home. Work is no longer a place but something you can do from anywhere and our offices have to be at least as comfortable and desirable to spend time in as your own home. I was happy to learn that many members of my team said the number one thing they missed during Covid lockdowns was our own, more intimate studio space and that after returning to the office most people decided to work out of our studio rather than their desk in the Google communal space.

In general terms, how do you see the role of the office post-pandemic? 

IR: The office absolutely still has a role to play as it is imperative that the community comes together for connection, creativity and problem solving that can’t be done remotely. The offices need to feel more warm and inviting with a variety of ways that individuals or groups can work together.

I think offices will be designed to be more flexible and to support a variety of collaborative type meetings that will at times  include fully remote participants in the mix. 

It’s a new design exercise to solve the problem of some of us joining live while others work fully remotely. We need to consider how we become more inclusive, bringing them into the conversation through both our technology and environment.