Google's wacky new office in Israel

Google’s offices more than make up for their site’s minimalist design, as we can see from their new fun factory in Tel Aviv, Israel. Google HQ in Israel occupies seven floors of one of the country’s tallest skyscrapers, Electra Tower, and is fitted out with orange trees, slides that connect the floors, pinball machines, epic murals and even an artificial beach. And as we’ve come to expect, Google’s new pad also contains plenty of bean bags, as well as deck chairs and other places to sit besides plain old chairs. Bar stools, for example, as well as arm chairs, sofas, benches and pretty much everything – all in a variety of designs, from the classical to the fluorescent – fill the building.

The web giant says the designs – a collaboration between Swiss designers Camenzind Evolution and the Israeli Studio Yaron Tal and Setter Architects – inspire good communication and teamwork among employees. Although the question has to be asked if such wacky surroundings may actually inspire erratic behavior. What’s the point of having pinball machines, for example, if they’re not to be played with? And some of the colour schemes, which look more the interior of a head shop than an office, seem like they could induce headaches or even hallucinations.

Even though we instinctively assume slides and pinball machines to be a distraction, judging by Google’s stratospheric success, they’re clearly onto something.