The Googleplex is the company headquarters for Google, Inc., located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California, near San Jose. The name Googleplex is a play on words, being a combination of the words Google and complex, and a reference to googolplex, the name given to the large number.
The four core buildings, totaling 506,317 ft² (47,038 m²), were built for and originally occupied by SGI. They were leased by Google beginning in 2003. In June 2006, Google purchased the property from Silicon Graphics for $319 million.
Although the buildings are of relatively low height, the complex covers a large area. The interior of the headquarters is furnished with items like shade lamps and giant rubber balls. The lobby contains a piano and a projection of current live Google search queries. The facilities include a gym (Building 40), free laundry rooms (Buildings 40 and 42), two small swimming pools, a sand volleyball court, and more than a dozen cafeterias of diverse selection. Google has even installed replicas of SpaceShipOne and a dinosaur skeleton.
In late 2006, the company announced plans to install a series of solar panels, capable of producing 1.6 megawatts of electricity, by the following spring. It is believed that this could be the largest such installation in the country. About 30 percent of the Googleplex's electricity needs will be fulfilled by this project, with the remainder being purchased.About one third of the panels will be in the form of "solar trees" mounted on poles above parking lots, with the remainder placed on rooftops.
The solar panel project went online on 18 June 2007. As of 21 June 2007 Google has installed over 90% of the 9,212 solar panels that comprise the 1.6 megawatt project.
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