Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page speak to reporters during a 2008 news conference at Google headquarters (Image Credit: AP Photo/ Paul Sakuma)
A luxury project shaped around environmental design
By March 2009, Page was preparing plans for another substantial house on a more than 0.75-acre lot. The Mountain View Voice reported that the proposed residence would measure nearly 6,000 square feet and stand two storeys tall, with four bedrooms and a full basement. More than 60 existing trees were expected to remain on the property, helping screen the building from the street and neighbouring homes. Page could have built close to 11,000 square feet on the lot, but the proposed residence was kept to about 6,000 square feet, according to the Mountain View Voice.
Because page was not simply pursuing size, the planned house was also notable. His acquisition of neighbouring lots created more land around his home, while the planned new residence introduced a different idea of luxury: rather than relying solely on size, the design incorporated solar energy, vegetation, water-conscious landscaping and permeable surfaces.
His spokesman said the design was intended to minimise the home’s environmental impact. The plans came at a time when Palo Alto’s rules placed limits on residential development. The environmental features were central to the proposed design. Page was seeking GreenPoint certification, a programme that recognised homes incorporating environmentally preferable construction and design measures. The planned house was to include a roof garden with solar panels. It would also use recycled materials and materials with low or no volatile organic compound emissions. The design included grasscrete pavers, pervious paving in the parking court and a permeable pathway through the trees, allowing rainwater to seep into the ground rather than simply running off paved surfaces. The proposed residence combined the scale expected of a Silicon Valley billionaire’s property with an unusually strong emphasis on environmental features for its time. The exterior was planned with zinc cladding and extensive glazing, including a large wall of sliding-glass doors at the rear. The project also reflected the broader transformation taking place around Page’s Palo Alto properties.
In 2008, two houses on Bryant Street were demolished after Page acquired the properties, adding them to his existing holdings and creating a compound of nearly two acres. A year later, plans emerged for a nearly 6,000-square-foot environmentally friendly house on an adjacent lot. Page had purchased and demolished the former homes at 2131 and 2161 Bryant Street in 2008, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post.
The proposed home was designed with solar panels, a roof garden and several features intended to reduce its environmental impact, according to the Mountain View Voice. Google co-founder Larry Page’s Palo Alto property plans drew attention in the late 2000s as he began acquiring neighbouring homes and expanding the land around his residence. Page’s expansion in Palo Alto was not simply about building a larger house. He was gradually acquiring properties around his existing residence in the Old Palo Alto neighbourhood, a part of the city known for its mature trees, large homes and high property values. One of the properties had belonged to Palo Alto businessman and philanthropist Len Ely, whose historic home had been placed on the market after being left to Stanford University.