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Creative Googleplex Home of ‘No.1 Company to Work For’

Published by Jamie on Friday, January 20 2012 at 9:50 AM

As Fortune magazine releases their ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ list of 2012, Google claims yet another victory in a stunning portfolio of global ‘Top 100’ wins.

The search engine giant won this latest accolade thanks to the fact that “employees rave about their mission, the culture, and the famous perks,” reports Fortune.

Just a few of these perks are mentioned; “bocce courts, a bowling alley, eyebrow shaping... Then there's the food: some 25 cafés companywide, all gratis.”

And all this glorious Google culture can be found at the Googleplex, the company’s headquarters located in Mountain View, California.

Perhaps one of the world’s most famous workplaces of all time, the Googleplex (previously the home of Silicon Graphics) was taken over by the Google Corporation in 2003. The sprawling campus now houses all the associated luxuries of working for the world’s default search engine in over 20 refurbished and fully equipped buildings.

Thanks in part to Google’s unusual take on utilizing office space, a trend for quirky workspace has taken off internationally. Offices can now be judged against this new standard, rendering some ‘new age’ and others just plain ugly.

Keep reading for a list of our Top 3 Wild and Mild workplaces around the world...

THE WILD

1. Johannesburg, South Africa

Presentation design company, Missing Link, has outfitted its offices with some of the wackiest features in the working world to keep staff entertained, including a fireman’s pole, a tattoo parlor and a stress-busting firing range!

2. Copenhagen, Denmark

Human response analysts, MindLab, have created the ultimate lab-style offices for their employees. The building features vast open plan spaces, whiteboard walls and egg shaped meeting rooms to inspire innovation and creativity.

3. Sydney, Australia

Created from an old Linseed Silo and retaining lots of original features, Red Bull’s Sydney office now reflects the high energy brand it houses, with various themed rooms, wide open spaces and a wrecker’s yard for local graffiti artists to go crazy and get creative.

THE MILD

1. Silicon Valley, California

Proving that sharing Google’s playground does not mean playing in the same sandpit, techno giant Apple keeps its super-secret offices on lockdown. Staff are reported to work in a strictly smart workspace, pay for their meals and avoid talking to their Silicon Valley neighbors.

2. Edinburgh, Scotland

While undoubtedly beautifully designed, Microsoft’s headquarters in the capital of Scotland are pretty standard. Attractively landscaped throughout, complete with roof garden and break out areas, no industry-standard gimmicks reflect their ‘potential’ or their ‘passion’.

3. Salford, UK

Not just mild but apparently the ugliest and ‘least creative’ workplace in the UK is none other than new home of that English institution, the BBC. Their recent MediaCity expansion into Salford Quays was judged severely in Building Design magazine’s Carbuncle Cup 2011.

Related...

• Googleplex Goes Green With First LEED Office Building

• Pier 70 Transformed into Office Space

• Improvement in the San Francisco Office Market

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