Google
Visitor Experience

Client: Alphabet Inc. / Google

Type: Experiential Design / Concept Development

Services: Creative Direction / Creative Strategy / Experiential Design / Copywriting

Key Project Partners: LendLease

Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters had a real estate problem and a PR problem: tourists were arriving at its offices expecting an experience, and Google wanted to ensure it continued to maintain a positive relationship with the local community as its footprint expanded.

On the strength of our reputation for large-scale, out-of-the-box experiential work, Beneville Studios was engaged by Google and LendLease to develop an initial concept and master plan for a “Phase 0” Temporary Welcome Center and Community Experience adjacent to the Googleplex. I led our engagement.

One insight, drawn from a workshop with Google's senior leadership in Silicon Valley, shaped everything: the story of Google was never really about Google, it was about people. We designed the space to emphasize Google’s role in empowering people: to learn, think, discover, and grow. A 'Search Bar' walk-through entry portal, a community makerspace, and dedicated philanthropy and small-business zones gave visitors, Googlers, and neighbors alike a genuine third place, not a branding exercise, positioning Google as enabler, not subject. Throughout, I specified 'Design for Disassembly' principles: repurposed buildings, reclaimed materials, and modular fixtures built for a temporary structure, intentionally designed to evolve.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped Google's campus plans in 2020, and the temporary campus did not move forward. It remains some of the most ambitious strategic work I've done: solving a real estate problem, a community problem, and a brand problem around a core idea.