In pictures: Is Google’s new HQ the most amazing office in Singapore?

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Google has a new Singapore HQ! They’ve moved from Asia Square 1 to Mapletree Business City II, and it’s a big upgrade. Google’s Asia-Pacific headquarters spans the entirety of blocks 60 to 70, from the third to eighth floors, and now employs approximately 1,000 people.

I had a sneak preview of their new office just a couple of weeks after they moved in, and dear readers, it is stupendous. What you’re about to see in the next few pages may very well be the most amazing office in Singapore.

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I visited the week of Deepavali, so there were rangoli (floor decoration) displays around the office. I was told that the staff would regularly put up holiday-appropriate decorations during the year.

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This giant assembly of screens is the first thing you see as you pass reception. This large atrium actually connects blocks 60 and 70, and the open spaces were designed to encourage serendipitous encounters between staff. Canteens and cafes are also centrally located, so everyone will come to the spacious middle to mingle sooner or later.

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Google’s corporate colors are sprinkled throughout the design of the building. The blue, red and orange glass panels here reveal meeting rooms inside; the ability to see inside them repeat the atrium’s sense of openness and transparency. The top floor also opens out to natural sunlight, not only opening up but also brightening the space.

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Desks and meeting rooms on the ground floor of the atrium. You’ll spot power plugs on those tables, that’s because you can work anywhere at Google. If you feel like working right beside reception today, you can simply claim that chair and work from there. 

The wooden floors reveal the new office’s color palette. Besides the official Google colors, the new HQ is very much patterned after the colors of a rainforest, with wood textures everywhere, and liberal doses of greens. It’s a deliberate callback to the Asia-Pacific HQ’s location in the tropics.

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The smart LED lights in this corridor can be programmed to say anything Google wants, like a warm “Welcome” message for VIP guests.

Thinking about smart offices, I asked if any of the rooms here were hooked up to a Google Home device, and the answer was a surprising “no.” As for why, I was simply told that Home, Google’s voice-activated smart home assistant, isn’t officially available in Singapore yet.

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Google’s office has an in-house gym, which is open 24/7 and completely free for its employees. And you can spend your office hours working out, no questions asked. When I jokingly asked how HR tracks which employees are spending their entire days here, I was told that nobody gets tracked for anything. To be sure, Google does measure employee performance (here’s how, as revealed by Google’s SVP of People Operations Laszlo Bock), but it’s refreshing to hear that the legends are true: Google treats its employees like adults; they don’t care how you spend your time, as long as you get your work done.

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The opposite view across the windows in the middle atrium. If you wanted, you could look up to and walk all the way to the top floor from here.

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A desk with Lego to rest and de-stress. Looks like at least one home-grown Googler is old enough to remember those old playgrounds.

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Here we are at one of the two canteens in the new HQ, this is the smaller one. Breakfast and lunch are provided free of charge to Googlers, with a lot of healthy options. I was too early to catch lunch, alas, or you’d be getting a Google food review.

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The Google HQ is divided into major kampongs (villages), my guide’s offices are in the Bugis kampong. Meeting rooms are named after local languages, MRT stations and local phrases (I’m told there’s a “Steady Pom Pi Pi” meeting room).

But it’s not just local area names that are being used in the new HQ. You can also catch familiar locations from around the region, like Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, etc., which reflect the Asia Pacific HQ’s multinational influences.

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One of two cafes, with baristas making fresh coffee for Googlers. And yes, all the drinks are free. Did we say this was probably the most amazing office in Singapore or what?

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A view from further up on the central atrium. If you take a close look at the middle left of the photo, you can see actual work desks for Googlers. I was told that it was up to individual departments if they wanted to do free-seating or dedicated desks for their staff; neither is mandatory, adults get to choose. The big cocoons in the middle are enclosed seats for Googlers who need a quiet spot to focus on their work.

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Here’s a great spot to watch YouTube.

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One of the many pantries sprinkled around Google HQ. Again, the healthy options are plenty, but there’s a hidden secret ...

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Google has unhealthy snacks too, but they’re hidden! It’s part of how Google uses psychology to help its staff eat healthily: Put the good stuff front and center so you’re more likely to grab them, hide the bad stuff so they’re out of sight and out of mind. They use the same tactic in the canteens as they do at the pantries.

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Here’s another example of Google designs for healthy eating. The good stuff is on top, in front of the transparent part of glass, where you can see it easily and grab it comfortably. The sugary stuff is all below, hidden behind the opaque part of glass, where you have to bend down to get it.

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Every floor in the new office has a special meeting room, also called an ‘immersion room.’ Each room is uniquely decorated, to encourage Googlers to think differently during meetings. This one is the ‘Junk Shop’ and you’ll see that it’s appropriately named ...

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Told you. ‘Junk Shop’ has a distinctly retro/vintage/junky vibe to it, with mood lighting to boot. I especially love that long wooden table at the end with the funky metal legs. Those TVs on the wall can be used to conduct video Hangouts, which I’m told is a major way to communicate inside Google.

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This is the part of the tour where my already open jaw drops even further to the ground. Tired Googlers can make their way to this room for a quick nap. The beds are a little short, but who’s complaining - definitely not the guy without a bed in the office. There’s a nice big massage chair in here too, but I wouldn’t waste my time with it because ...

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You can book your own massage sessions here, right inside Google HQ. Getting a massage, mind you, inside an office, on the company’s dime, and even on the company’s time. So this is the kind of office you can get, if you’re an international multi-billion tech conglomerate.

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I feel like there’s some kind of commentary to be made here, about the difference between companies that expect you to stay rooted at your table, even if you’ve already finished your work, to companies that trust you to finish your deliverables on-time, letting you plan your work and personal time like an adult, because - nah, never mind.

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The main cafeteria on the top floor, which is massive - it spans two stories, with a smaller cafe on the top for a post-meal cuppa.

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I have to hand it to whoever designed the Google interiors; there’s a lot of respect here for local traditions. Whatever the Google HQ is, it’s not sterile; there are splashes of character here and there, and tasteful nods to Singapore culture.

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I’m told there’s a particularly awesome Taco Tuesday with delicious Mexican food.

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Snazzy.

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Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin hold a weekly town hall here every Friday afternoon, via the giant TV. The regular town hall has been a thing since Google’s early days, but it’s not compulsory. After it ends, the canteen breaks out free beers for TGIF Friday.

So, Google’s new HQ might just be the most amazing office in Singapore yet. With an office like this, the only question you might ask is why you would ever want to leave.