Google's Opening A 'Zootopia' To Lure Employees Back To Office Full Of Birds And Bees

Employees need to be incentivised to return to offices in the post-Covid era of the "Great Resignation."?

Google is pulling back employees into the physical fold by making some radical changes to how a workplace should look. For starters - nap pods. Unimpressed? One word - insects!

COOKFOX architects

Zootopia, but at Google?

In a bid to pull back employees in the beginning of 2022, Google is building a "biophilic" office, according to a report by Financial Times. The new office complex will be heavy on greenery and the likes of birds, bees, caterpillars... even a resident praying mantis!

With a whopping cost of $2.1 billion, Google is building one of the most expensive office spaces in US history in Manhattan.

According to the architect, Rick Cook, the workspace at St. John's Terminal is designed to enable the intermingling of the environment in the workplace, defying the norms of what traditional offices look like.

Bloomberg

Also read:?Sundar Pichai Explains Google's 'Three Two Model' For Return To Office In 2022

Perhaps this is the shake up all offices need to lure their employees back to the office. "Biophilic," according to Cook, represents the human tendency to connect with nature.

Google is taking its back-to-office initiatives very serious, for the company has hired in-house ecologists to maintain office premises. In conversation with Financial Times, Cook claimed that the goal is to recruit and retain talent in the post-Covid era.

Reuters

Also read:?Facebook 'Knew What It Was Doing' And Acted Irresponsibly, Says Google's Ex-CEO

Earlier, Google CEO Sundar Pichai had spoken in favour of calling employees back to office in the first half of 2022 with a 3-2 proposal - three days in the office and two from wherever the employee prefers.

What do you think about this ambitious design to lure employees back? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.?For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.??

Citation

Chaffin, J. (2021, November 3). Forget skyscrapers: nature inspires next generation of New York offices. Financial Times.?