[UPBEAT MUSIC] NARRATOR: We all use its services every day. It answers our most bizarre questions. You're even watching this video using the company's video streaming platform. We're talking Google-- or more importantly, its bank-busting, Silicon Valley headquarters. 

A short walk from the San Francisco Bay Area and a stone's throw away from other multinational headquarters, like Apple Park and the homes of Facebook, eBay, and Netflix, sits the 26-acre site on which we find Googleplex. Based in Mountain View, the Google headquarters gets its name from a play on words. Most evidently, it's a combination of Google and complex, but spelt a little differently. 

Googolplex is an incredibly large number, with lots of zeros after it. The latter explanation is probably a hint towards Google's global monopoly and its incredible successes. The land was purchased from Silicon Graphics, the creators of Jurassic Park's famous dinosaurs. Maybe that's why a dinosaur still looks over the complex today. 

For the first time ever, Google didn't move into buildings that were inhabited by previous tenants. The multinational firm, this time around, took matters into its own hands, and employed South African architect Clive Wilkinson. It was said that teamwork and creativity topped the mood boards in Wilkinson's office when designing the giant Google complex. 

Both firms came together to design a space which was not only set up to boost productivity, but also workforce satisfaction. This can be seen with fun lava lamps and even giant screens showing live Google search terms from around the world, a nod to the company's most famous asset. Oversized whiteboards plaster some walls, full of creative ideas and, uh-- not so creative anonymous jokes. And many of the lobbies are home to pianos, welcoming the next musician who dares to play. 

An incredible amount of glass was used in the construction of Googleplex, which boosts natural light, and offices are arranged in workspaces of 3 or 4 people. These little clusters are said to be effective for sharing and developing ideas, but are small and independent enough to reduce office chatter. It seems that Google has perfectly balanced the best of both worlds. 

Insider photos show workstations decorated with various Google and Android paraphernalia. And from what we've seen, they seem to house some serious productivity. Employees are there to work, but the company doesn't want them to feel that way. Staff are treated as friends, with access to an incredible amount of facilities. 

We've all heard of an on-site gym. That's nothing new. But the company also offers swim-in-place swimming pools. These are designed to reduce the footprint needed by allowing swimmers to swim against an artificially generated current. 

Various ping pong, billiards, and foosball tables are dotted throughout the campus, with spaces to kick back and enjoy some videogaming, too. Google even has its own self-contained pods, which are used by staff members to kick back and relax, or to distance themselves from their surroundings in order to get down to work on some heavy tasks. 

What about outdoors? After all, California weather is supposed to be among the best in the world. Google has that covered, too. Tennis courts, soccer fields, and other outdoor spaces for fun Frisbee games are all totally free to use for staff. These are all interlinked by a network of private footpaths. 

Health is looked after by on-site medical staff, and luxury is provided by a company-subsidized massage service, a haircut salon, a launderette, and dry cleaners-- the list goes on. In fact, rumor has it that team members bring their laundry in over the weekend to avoid having to use their own machines. The best part about it? Traveling between these amenities is all done on Google-colored bikes. 

It's even reported that many employees are given a 20% portion of their work time to focus on side projects unrelated to their usual workload. Promoting and inspiring creativity pays off. Google says that's how many of its Labs projects were dreamt up. 

Self-sufficiency was key to the Googleplex. Although not fully, some of the complex's energy requirements are met by on-site solar panels, which were carefully placed across the building's roofs. Some of the fruit, vegetables, and herbs eaten in the company's cafeterias are even grown in one of the park's two gardens, which themselves are accredited by an educational society whose aim is to teach people about the benefits of horticulture. Many scientists and psychologists have commented on the benefits of getting outdoors for our mental health. And as you'd expect, tech giant Google recognizes these benefits, with mindfulness spaces strategically placed around the complex, utilizing spaces like the food gardens. 

Oh, and one last perk-- food. Are you sitting down? Because this isn't for the faint-hearted. Google provides its staff with food, and a lot of it, entirely for free. Workers can enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the site's various cafes free of charge, including at Charlie's Place, the main cafeteria, which was named after Google's first lead chef, Charlie Ayers. 

Nowadays, the restaurants focus on food that is fresh, organic, and healthy. Those Buddha bowls or that smashed avocado on toast that you see on Instagram-- these are the sorts of meals being dreamt up by head chefs, which include a fusion of the world's foods. We imagine a wide variety of dietary requirements are considered when planning the menus at the Googleplex. 

But Google employs real people. They're not all robots. And these real humans get hungry between meals, just like you and I. The solution? Every single workspace is within walking distance of an entire snack room, which is stocked with treats like granola, candy, and hot and cold drinks. 

The novelty of consistently eating out may have worn off for many of the company's more seasoned members of staff, but kitchenettes are always nearby, with essential amenities like microwaves, kettles, and fridges. An unwritten saying among the company's workforce is the Google 15, which refers to the 15 pounds of weight that new starters often gain with all this free food. In fact, we don't actually know how much the company spends on feeding the entire campus. But one blogger ran some calculations and came up with a figure of at least $72 million each year. 

Traveling to and from the expansive site, employees are likely to catch a Wi-Fi-enabled, diesel-powered bus. Other members may take to the roads in their own cars, after which they will find one of 2,000 parking spaces underground. Or maybe the staff want to plug their electric cars into the power points supplied under a solar panel-topped carport. 

Any visitors to the site will be quick to notice the fun aspects that Google injected here and there. An army of Android statues populate the main outdoor area-- a Kit-Kat and a gingerbread man, to name just two. Of course the, green Android character features, as well as various spinoffs, such as the metal Android statue popping out of the Android Building's upper floor. 

What did all this cost? This site alone cost the firm around $1 billion. And that was in the same year as the $2.4 billion acquisition of the New York Chelsea Market. Let's not forget the astonishing amount of money likely spent on food and other maintenance work, and this works out to be one of the world's most expensive headquarters. 

What do you think of the tech giant Google's fusion of home and work balance? Would you work in such a place, with its incredible benefits? Or do you value time spent away from work? One thing's for sure, though. If for nothing else, this place is good for a visit, as an insight into what the future may hold.