testsetset
As Silicon Valley companies have recently been bitten by the architectural bug, the region has seen a range of ambitious new headquarters being proposed or built by some of its biggest names.
One of the more intriguing examples is Samsung’s new North American headquarters, which is now open in North San Jose. The building has 1.1 million square feet and was officially completed in September 2015.
To give people a better sense of the unique space, Samsung and NBBJ, the architecture firm behind the design, have released a tour of the inside and outside that was shot via drone.
It’s easy to dismiss these investments as being just about ego. But the reality is that competition for talent in Silicon Valley is so fierce, digs like this one are what a company like Samsung hopes will be a recruiting advantage.
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
The building has a large main tower that is actually a series of two-story buildings stacked on top of each other. In between are green spaces, which you can see in the video. They contain everything from simple parks to gardens, and even include a putting range.
Despite the site’s urban environment, NBBJ has said it wanted to let employees feel connected to the outdoors even when within the structure. So inside the tower is a large courtyard. And the buildings connected to the main tower will eventually be draped in vegetation to give the structure an even greener feel.
Samsung joins other tech names like Nvidia, Google, Facebook, and, of course, Apple, who all have ambitious plans for new campuses. Just how much these will collectively change the physical face of Silicon Valley remains to be seen.
But when these projects are all completed, the region known for miles of drab office buildings will at least have some interesting architecture to boast about.
Samsung’s North America Headquarters from nbbjdesign on Vimeo.
