Google at St. John’s Terminal

Designed as the new headquarters for Google’s Global Business Organization, St. John’s Terminal is a purpose-built 1.3 million-square-foot workplace developed by Oxford Properties that pilots a new shared neighborhood seating model based on flexibility of choice for 3,000 Googlers and visiting clients. Celebrating the building’s distinctive history as the terminus of the High Line while squarely focusing on the future through its ambitious sustainable and research-driven workplace design, this Google HQ creates porosity within New York City’s Hudson Square neighborhood and the adjacent Hudson River Greenway. Projected to save the equivalent of approximately 78,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through adaptive reuse, the building is targeting LEED v4 Platinum and ILFI Zero Carbon Certification — exemplifying how repurposing an existing building can be a tool for activating its surroundings in a sustainable way.

St. John's Terminal, located at 500 Washington, consists of a three-story historic building topped with nine new overbuild levels. Pairing sensory-rich physical spaces with on-demand programming, the new and historic portions of the building work together to create an energized workplace underscored by flexible work areas, biophilia, and hospitality-infused common spaces. Driven by Google’s research — which shows that innovation is born from small, tight-knit teams working together towards shared goals — six floors of stacked workspaces are comprised of shared neighborhoods clustered around a generous 12-story fire stair designed for maximum transparency and connectivity. Calibrated to fuel the social energy of the workforce while making movement through the office easy and convenient, the stair creates a living, breathing workplace full of activity. Inviting teams to iterate and shift work modes in a modular way, this Gensler-designed space allows Googlers to live authentically throughout their day.

The piloted shared neighborhood seating model provides every team with an assigned area that acts as their home base. These neighborhoods aren’t one-size-fits-all, but rather, they include a variety of desks, meeting rooms, phone booths, and communal tables to support the different types of work Googlers do every day, helping foster greater levels of social connection and team cohesion. Every floor also houses a curated collection of desk-alternative work zones and food and beverage areas, each optimized with ergonomic and soft seating, generous work surfaces, and access power outlets.

Facilitating a vital piece of Google’s broader company mission to make the world’s information universally accessible and helpful, St. John’s Terminal invites business partners into the building to experience Google’s way of working firsthand. Outdoor terraces outfitted with work and relaxation pavilions complement interior spaces to create a holistic, wellness-driven workplace that embraces neurodiversity and multi-modal work styles. The variety of work environments — including cafe spaces, an events hub, an outdoor garden, and a quiet library with sweeping views of the Hudson River — provide ample space where clients and Googlers can come together and collaborate shoulder-to-shoulder.

As a catalyst for progress and an experience multiplier for the Hudson Square neighborhood, Google's New York HQ at St. John's Terminal is testament to NYC’s vibrancy that reaffirms Google’s commitment to the city and its diverse talent pool while trailblazing new standards for the future of work.

In addition to Gensler, the lead interior architect and designer, the design team includes COOKFOX, the project’s core and shell architect.