Spectacular - watch the You Tube video
Only problem is managing the traffic of the people that will travel from afar to see this project in the future

I really like what I have seen so far. Can't wait to see what LinkedIn brings. MTV is so lucky to have these world class companies. Not just in their business but also being a good neighbor. Don't forget Intuit/MSFT/NASA and the hospitals. Great city to be in.

I wish they'd rethink their way towards Gilroy. With this monstrosity and the Mayfield Mall getting Googled, the traffic will be even worse that it is now.

GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

I want a beautiful translucent canopy covering my yard bringing a sea of green indoors. Surely my neighbors will support that beautiful vision ...

This is a huge opportunity to remake an underutilized area. The challenge, of course, will be getting people in and out.

An extra freeway offramp isn't going to cut it.

Segregated lanes for transit and bicycles between the downtown transit center and North Bayshore would be a good start. That likely means a new overpass over 101.

The city should push for transportation improvements that are as forward-thinking as Google's campus designs. We won't get everything we want, but we'll get nothing if we don't ask for it.

The Mercury News now has an article about Linkedin's expansion plans. Hopefully there is room for Gold's Gym in the LinkedIn development. Both Google and LinkedIn have open campus designs with retail and public access.

Here is what a Tent Caterpillar nest looks like:
Web Link
Nothing like the Google Plex!

Google has done an admirable attempt at mimicking the view of the mountains once visible from all parts of Mountain View, soon to be obliterated by the dense growth Google has funded. Perhaps if it was colored dark green to look like the mountains!

I would have expected something more inspiring, that would make Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubi, and the zero in Cupertino (binaryly speaking) one-upped.

@JimmyZ - If you don't like density, maybe it's you whom needs to move to Gilroy. It's quite lovely and quiet there.

@ Tent Caterpillars - So, you want MV to be closer to Shanghai, HK, Dubai. So, you're asking for MORE density, right?

The fact is, if you can manage growth well; and get more density, the value of the place goes up (think Canary Wharf, or HK Island, Shinjuku, Munchen, etc etc. MV has the opportunity to shift the center of the bay area away from SF.

From the article:

"Google's Davis White estimated that up to 300 to 400 affordable homes could be built on the Middlefield Road site, but the city would have to allow Google to build 10,000 square feet of additional office space for every additional unit. That could mean adding 2.5 million more square feet of offices for 250 additional units."

So Google is offering 250 "affordable" units in exchange for 2.5 million sf of office space, above and beyond this proposal? That would be an insanely bad exchange.

Is this a misprint? Lenny or Daniel, could you clarify this? It seems to me that Google should be offering a large number of affordable units as one of their "public benefits," with no quid pro quo. They can afford it.

I would hope that somewhere in this proposal would be some money from one of these developers toward building or renovating a school which would be a need for one of these development areas should something this grand be approved.

It's beautiful! Very Alvin Toffler inspired. I like it. I can't wait
to bike all over it when it is finished with my family. Plus hopefully some cool food places to go to that aren't too expensive.

All of Google's many food establishments serve free food to Google employees and contractors and invited guests only. There's no access for the public to any of their food service facilities. This will soon be the entirety of food service in the North Bayshore area with the possible exception of concessions in the Regional Park.

Buildings and grounds look stunning which I am hoping they will open to the public even if only on the weekends and holidays.

If open to the public why not have a cafe/restaurant pavilion.

Shoreline/Middlefield/Terra Bella business park might be good for housing/mixed use with those ramps to start and finish point for west of 101.

I grew up in this valley and have lived all over the country before moving back in 2000. One of the great failings of this area is our utter lack of creative, innovative or even generally good looking architecture. SF has the pyramid, Coit and little else. The South Bay's most architecturally interesting structures are Hangar 1 (built in 1933) and a pedestrian footbridge over 280 near Wolf Rd.

Apple is soon to change this landscape a bit, though I fear from the outside it'll look something like a rounded off version of The Pentagon.

Mountain View has this, and only this, opportunity to be the home to something lasting, innovative, creative and beautiful. To create not just for the area, but for the world, a touchstone for the confluence of art, science, sustainability, and utility and all while creating a place where Mountain View residents can recreate and live as well.

Combining sustainable and beautiful commercial structures that offer public spaces with housing and infrastructure in the North Bayshore area MUST happen. The undeniable answer to Mountain View's soaring real estate prices is to increase inventory. The best place to put that inventory is close to where it's residents will work, not along El Camino further clogging that already overloaded artery (and don't get me started on that insane VTA exclusive lane boondoggle).

Google & Linkedin and other N. Bayshore companies have already done great things in terms of mitigating the traffic impact of their employees. Each of those buses (that so many non-thinking people like to complain about) takes 65+ cars off the road and saves untold gallons of fuel & emissions. All to the benefit of you & I. By putting a percentage of those companies’ workforces within walking distance of their office space they will further alleviate the traffic impact on the S. Bay and reduce the need for vast expanses of paved parking areas around the commercial buildings.

The list of who is able to do something like this can be tallied on one hand. If Mountain View blows this opportunity, there will not be another and we'll be left, both literally and figuratively with a bunch of old, inefficient 80's era commercial buildings....and nobody to occupy them. Those companies ARE going to continue to grow. The question for our City Council is where?

The Mountain View City council needs to stop being the crotchety anti-growth "get off my lawn" body that it has been for years and embrace these projects. Embrace job growth. Embrace real-estate inventory growth.
Embrace innovation. Embrace creativity. Embrace sustainability. Embrace art & beauty in architecture.

Time for "Sunset on Shoreline agency"? The 1969 quasi-RDA (ReDevelopment Agency) sucks more than 90% of general property taxes. RDA is temporarily sharing part of the general tax with schools and the county, but no guarantees in an economic downturn or when the contracts expire. Schools do get their school Bond (facilities) taxes in full. But - after more than 1/2 century - seems "Sunset on Shoreline" legislation is necessary. Permanent public benefits for education, county programs, and some less $$ for the city coffers.

If there is no food court/restaurant pavilion in either the Google or Linked In areas that is going to be a real negative. They say retail. What kind of retail are they going to have there? I would like to hear more
about Linked In and Microsoft's proposed campuses.

All these buildings look nice, LinkedIn has a pretty good mix if residential is added. The kind of residential should be more adult centered who most likely will not have children anytime soon.

I think building a "high line" type link from MV to NBS, would make good green space above parking lots, roofs or the highway. If building on roof going lightweight is the key.

We have 2 school sites, Moffett Field, why not discuss with Google sub leasing some land for a school.. Stanford does it with PAUSD. Building a bike/ped bridge Whisman Road.

Another way to look at N. Bayshore development is that the residents and city council of Mountain View have a unique opportunity to play a leadership role in facilitating the future growth of several 'flagship' companies for Silicon Valley and the world. The technology that these companies represent may become the foundation of mankinds last great hope to save the human race from the ever-growing mess that we all have created/allowed (i.e., overpopulation effects, pollution, climate, financial corruption, cyber-crime, etc.). Technology, communication, finance and internet access (i.e., smartphone technology) may be the future pillars of our only hope for survival as a species. By supporting and embracing responsible, forwarding looking companies such as Google, LinkedIn, Inutit, Symantec, and all the start-ups, we send a message to the world that says, yes, Mountain View is proactively doing our part to help engineer mankinds way out of the upcoming chasm.

Perhaps we all need to look at the bigger picture and imagine what the world may look like in 10 or 15 years if we keep supporting unethical corporate America with our 401K's, our dirty electrical consumption, and our fossil fuel burning dumb vehicles. Maybe we should put some of our own wants and needs aside for a bit and consider the benefits of proactively supporting the growth of companies like Google and other companies that spearhead and develop things like solar partnerships, traffic reducing self-driving electric cars, robotics, smartphone technology, and fiber networks. And yes, urban traffic is bad everywhere on the planet, but self-driving cars, home delivery service, and better communications can and will make the situation much more tolerable. Let's help solve big problems by supporting the companies who have the drive, vision, and resources to facilitate effective, near-term solutions. Silicon Valley's (and Mountain View's) leadership position in fostering technology and enterprise has become the envy of the world, and indeed, it may actually be fundamental to the world's last best hope for survival. What's that worth?

Why have a building cap at all? How does space in itself negatively impact anyone? Why not just have a strict traffic cap and perhaps caps on carbon footprint, waste production, light, and sound pollution? To pit good designs with exciting public benefits at Google and Linkedin against each other over a zero sum metric that doesn't directly address the real negative externalities of traffic and pollution limits everyone's best potential.

Building caps are imprecise in measuring employees given the changing office setups. If the true negative externalities are traffic and pollution, lets approve far beyond the cap if they can innovate even further and lower pollution and traffic beyond current numbers. I think they could handle the bold engineering challenge.

Build all the Space Huts you want but Mtn View does not have the infrastructure, resources or money to grow as fast as these companies. As everyone has noted the council must control expansion such that the roads school police and fire will not collapse with the added "Modernizations". A new building with 50,000 people friendly occupants never discussed the parking or road ways to deliver the new tenants. 100 buses are not the fix. A new parking lot is not the fix. The 101 is already overcrowded beyond the commute times. I will await the entire plan not just google wishes

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"Why have a building cap at all? How does space in itself negatively impact anyone? Why not just have a strict traffic cap and perhaps caps on carbon footprint, waste production, light, and sound pollution?"

You should take a course in how democracy works. If we put in a traffic cap or other regulations that are supposed to limit negative impacts to the city, BUT allow your beloved ultra-ultra-high-density microhousing towers, what do you think will happen? 10,000 NEW VOTERS coming in to these crappy buildings you pushed on us will just vote the caps away, change zoning to put in more crap they want and damn any environmental concerns.

The people that say, "Oh, we'll allow thousands of people in E. Bayshore on the understanding that if they want schools or other services, they will have to cross 101 to get to it" are showing their ignorance. Or, in some cases, they are quite intelligent and are trying to fool us into approving this disastrous course of action.

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And Duh, you should learn how to not be a [Portion removed due to disrespectful comment or offensive language] on the internet, and also how to read the full text of a comment.

Cheers.

Are there no American architects to provide a design such as this?

Also, when is the City Council going to vote on whether Mountain View can change its name to Google Land? When traveling no-one knows where Mountain View is but they sure know when you say 'Google!'

I would like to give my opinion about the situation over in N. Shoreline and suggest a reasonable compromise.

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Doesn't this make sense? A deceptively simple solution, but incredibly effective. Let's ask the Council to consider it.

I have a great idea and would like to give my opinion about the situation in N. Shoreline and suggest a reasonable compromise.

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Doesn't this make sense? I think everyone wouldd agree.

Right now in planning stages so approval won't be happening right away. Right now plan for options other then solo commuters, cars and to reduce traffic.

We need to plan and build tranist links East to West. Improve links coming from the south and north.

We a 2 plus years before all this hits the city council.

Are these stackable modules even legal? Is this just up to the city, or are there statewide construction design guidelines? Do they count as prefab buildings when you can dismantle them apparently so easily? What keeps them from falling apart in an earthquake? How do the elevators work? 5000 square feet is actually pretty small for a building footprint. How do you keep the fire code satisfied when they stack them side by side to make sure they have adequate separation and adequate exit access? How much spacing is required? Who will enforce that rule?


Seems like this whole proposal has a lot of issues beyond the density.

I meant to say up there, do they count as TEMPORARY buildings when you can dismantle them so easily.

What is the ramification of having modules like this used in construction from safety, zoning, and urban planning standpoints?

Is this just another fad idea like the famous Google Barge? It seems to have some similarities.


Hmmm, will any of these be floating out on the bay? I mean, before the flood.