IN PHOTOS: Inside Google Philippines’ office

MANILA, Philippines – Google formally opened their new headquarters in the Philippines, Thursday, January 26. Prior to moving to their home in Taguig, the local arm of the search giant had taken refuge in two other offices. Their growth – now a team of 60 to 70 and growing – had progressively spurred them to find bigger accommodations.

The local team started out with 6 members in 2013.

The company’s new space can be considered as the first that is truly able to encapsulate Google culture; the former spaces were somewhat a bit restrictive, space-wise, for the company to let its personality shine. 

Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows fence in the spacious office – and frame Taguig’s urban landscape like a huge, multi-part painting. It’s a far more relaxing scene as opposed to being boxed off by walls. It’s also a reminder of how big the task of digitizing the Philippines still is, says Google PH communications head Gail Tan. 

Quirky furniture of all sorts stand guard at different places – a sure way to prevent the threat of monotony, which can be a death-spell for the creative types that drive a company such as Google. 

You will know you are in Google’s Philippine branch because the meeting rooms are named after local icons: “Whang Od,” “Vinta,” “Salakot,” and “Ifugao.” Another one, “Inay,” is specially designed for breastfeeding mothers. Their big room, meant for talks and press conferences, is called “Salu-Salo.”

Incidentally, one side of the room is borderless, flowing right into a homey pantry that coffee shops would have loved to claim as their own. A ping-pong table stands at the pantry’s far end, at a section whose ceiling is adorned by basketballs and walls are plastered with caricatures of athletes like Manny Pacquiao and Paeng Nepomuceno.

Take a look below. We got to take photos of their office, with the exception of the work areas where picture-taking was prohibited.

The lobby:

The pantry: 

At the event, Google also set up viewing Google Cardboard stations where one can view key attractions such as Palawan, Guimaras and Palawan on Google Street View. The event served as the launch of 188 new local sites on Street View, which is part of Google’s efforts to feature more meaningful online content.

In the bottom photo, Google country manager, Ken Lingan, and Department of Trade and Industry secretary Ramon Lopez – the event’s guest of honor – take a look at the new sites. 

Want to work at Google? Ken Lingan said there are currently openings in Google, mostly in marketing and sales, which you can view at google.com/careers. – Rappler.com