Spaceships, castles and Steve Jobs’ abandoned mansion: The houses that tech built

The biggest names in the technology world generally had humble beginnings – many were started in garages or basements and gradually grew into the powerhouses we know today.

But with technology now one of the largest business sectors, how can the demands of finding or building ‘homes’ for fast-paced technology companies be married with the sometimes glacial pace of architectural practice and construction?

One of Brazil’s hi-tech hubs. Image via Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images

Whether a company is building a bespoke HQ, leasing an existing building or repurposing a different structure entirely, the only constant remains the growing need to find a way in which the speed of property provision can match the speed of the technology industry as a whole. In a boom-and-bust industry, as technology has tended to be, matching supply with demand can be a tricky task.

It’s an ever-evolving question that companies are finding their way around. Much of Silicon Valley is enjoying a technological boom right now but just a few short years back, it was looking pretty touch-and-go for some of the Valley’s prime real-estate. Smaller, more agile companies and startups are looking to exploit cheap rent in fringe neighborhoods while others are building enterprise palaces to reflect their global power.

What follows is a look at the various methods and notable examples of tech’s speculative castles, massive office blocks that narrowly avoided permanent abandonment, cleverly repurposed buildings and some historic monuments that in one way or another, helped us along to where we are technologically today.

Silicon Castles

Despite the fact that technology moves at a mighty pace, the very biggest companies still want a modern day ‘castle’ as their headquarters; a physical epicenter of operations that acts as a metaphorical statement for the world. A ‘we’re here and we’re not going anywhere’ played out in concrete and curves.

Apple

Apple’s upcoming ‘Spaceship’ Campus 2 development is one highly-visible (in every sense) case in point.

First proposed at a Cupertino City Council meeting by Steve Jobs back in 2011 (below) and now looking likely to open its doors in 2016 following some short delays, the 2.8 million square-foot campus will serve as Apple’s newest headquarters and will provide a new circular office, an R&D building, a 1,000 seat auditorium, a fitness center, a central plant, parking and a separate 300,000 square-foot research facility.

There are also plans for it to attempt to generate its own electricity on-site in a bid to be less of a drain on local power resources.

This aside, all the power it draws will be from 100 percent renewable sources and while its aim might be to maximize efficiency and convenience for Apple employees, it’s not all R&D buildings; 80 percent of the site will be open space, and it will also play home to more than 7,000 trees. There will even be 300 electric vehicle charging stations and a raft of eco-friendly transport options to get employees to work.

Clearly, as a company that prides itself on design principles laid down by its iconic co-founder Steve Jobs, the company wanted Foster and Partners’ architectural creation to reflect that.

“Steve transformed Apple into one of the most innovative companies in the world and we understand the responsibilities that come from carrying his legacy forward with this project,” said Dan Whisenhunt, Apple’s head of real estate and facilities. “We’ve designed it with the same care and attention to detail as we do with all Apple products.”

When it is finally complete, there will be around 12,000 employees filling the campus.