Top 7 Noteworthy Headquarters of Global Tech Giants

Tech companies, with their massive scale and impact, represent the most innovative ideas and cultivate the most experimental practices in our time. Headquarters are not just a home to the gigantic body of employees of the companies, but a physical embodiment of the firm’s vision and strength.

Let's take a look at the headquarters of the top seven technology companies. From Silicon Valley powerhouse to Chinese upstarts, Apple, Google, Tencent, Alibaba and so on each has reflected their company culture in the their headquarter designs.

1、Apple – Apple Park:

Resembling a huge spaceship, Apple Park is one of the final products oversaw by the late CEO, Steve Jobs. Located in Cupertino, California, the massive ring-shaped building is now an iconic symbol of Apple's dedication to design, green energy, and the future of technology.

2.Amazon - Amazon Spheres:

As part of the Amazon headquarter’s campus in Seattle, the Amazon Spheres are three glass dome housing more than 40,000 plants from 50 countries. These glass balls filled with rainforest-like spectacles also serve as an employee lounge and workspace, and sometimes as public viewing space for botanical exhibition.

3.Microsoft - Microsoft Redmond campus:

Located in the southern part of the city in northwest King County, the Microsoft Redmond campus spans 500 acres and is made up of a network of 125 buildings and outdoor spaces consisting of offices, workplaces, event spaces, recreational spots, restaurants, shops and common spaces.

Apart from the 100 plus buildings, the campus has a set of treehouses. The treehouses consist of two enclosed meeting spaces as well as one elevated space called the “Crow’s Nest.”

4.Google – Googleplex

The Googleplex is the headquarters of Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc. It is located in Mountain View, California. The original complex, with 2 million square feet of office space, is the company's second largest square footage assemblage of Google buildings, after Google's 111 Eighth Avenue building in New York City. "Googleplex" is a portmanteau of Google and complex (meaning a complex of buildings) and a reference to googolplex, the name given to the large number 10(10100), or 10googol.

5. Facebook - MPK20

MPK20 is Facebook's new Menlo Park headquarters. The 430,000-square-foot space is LEED-certified and boasts a 9-acre green roof and underground parking lot. The staff all work in one giant room, keeping Facebook's work environment open for the 2,800 employees there.

6. Alibaba – Xixi campus

In Alibaba Xixi Campus, each employee’s workspace are designed to be less than a minute walk from outside green spaces, allowing for rejuvenating fresh air breaks. In addition, the campus applies a series of sustainable strategies, such as maximized use of natural daylight. The new headquarter will be accessible to the public as well, providing connectivity to the region of Hangzhou, China.

7.Tencent – BinHai Mansion

Located in Shenzhen, China, the headquarter of Tencent is a building of two connected tower designed by NBBJ. BinHai Mansion consists of the 248m high 50-storey South Tower and a 194m high 41-storey North Tower.

There are 3 skybridges connecting the two towers, representing Cultural Connections, Health Connections, and Knowledge Connections. Its carbon emissions are designed to be 40% less than traditional office towers and its design makes it possible to directly control heat from natural sunlight and intercept the prevailing winds. The building infrastructures are also highly digitalized that you can even book the lift in advance on WeChat.

Moreover, Tencent this month officially initiated a project to set up a brand new global headquarters in Shenzhen’s Dachan Bay. Nicknamed “Penguin Island” by Chinese media for the company’s well-known penguin logo, the planned “Internet+” Future City is expected to span a total area of 2 million square meters.

In recent years, Shenzhen has attracted not only Tencent but many more internet and tech giants such as Xiaomi, Alibaba, Baidu due to its advantage in development level, capital investment, infrastructure and human resources. The landing of Tencent’s global headquarters here is expected to further expand both the company and the city’s global influence.