[mbrzusto]

wouldn't it be better to use existing structures, like all the abandoned malls in the usa? why not distribute the workforce so people can live in an affordable, commutable area? and it bugs me further they couldn't find a way to locate walking distance to bart or caltrain.

[logfromblammo]

I used to work for a company that leased spaced out of an old mall. They also built their own huge new corporate office campus and moved everyone into it while I was there.

I actually preferred the mall space. There was a movie theater and a drivers' license annex in it, and some lunch-friendly restaurants. The commute was faster. Parking was never a problem. City buses stopped there.

The new corporate headquarters was in the middle of nowhere. You had to drive for 15 minutes to get anywhere else that you might want to be, including spiraling up all those ramps in the underground parking garage. It was well done architecturally, and very pretty, but I don't care about that while I'm working. And when I'm done working, I want to go somewhere else, and do something that is not work.

The supposed benefit to collaboration was not realized by reducing the walking time between offices. The people that worked together most often were still seated the same distance from each other, and from their regular conference rooms. Anyone not physically present was still brought in via conference call. The increased distance to anything else made it more likely that you would miss someone who was out to lunch, at an appointment, or on a personal errand. The start and end of ordinary business hours created localized traffic congestion.

So yes, it would be better to have a more distributed workforce.

[toast0]

There aren't any abandoned malls near the existing offices.

[mbrzusto]

but there are all over the country. why not give people to option to live somewhere else?

[toast0]

Google management must feel there is a benefit to having their employees clustered into a small number of campuses. Maybe mountain view isn't the optimal place for that, but uprooting the campus and distributing it among failed shopping malls throughout the world or building a giant googleplex in Montana is probably not a good strategy to keep the bulk of their employees.