Meeting 'pods' in the style of Swiss chalets and igloos, fireman poles to allow easy access between floors and a slide to ensure that people can get to the cafeteria as quickly as possible are all part of a design of Google's new European engineering headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. The building was designed for - and partly by - the 300 engineers who work there. The wacky office is both a showcase for Google's unconventional approach to business and a symbol to prove that Google is no longer a US-centric firm.
So how exactly does an office like this work? Engineers work in small teams of three or four, which is reflected at the Zurich HQ with small offices, each of which comes with the requisite 'bean bag' meeting room. Whiteboards are everywhere, allowing ideas to be written down wherever they are thought up and there is a heavy emphasis on the idea that work and play can co-exist.
Other areas include multiple games rooms, a library in the style of an English country house and an aquarium where over-worked Googlers can lie in a bath and stare at fish. (Okay that last one is a little creepy.)
How do they get anything done here?
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