DailyPost 894
ARCHITECTURALLY YOURS
Architecture has always manifested the rulers; monarchies, empires, sheikhdoms, modern democracies and the like. Iconic buildings have always indicated as to where the political and economic powers lies. From the Roman architecture to our own Mughal architecture and places and forts of royals of Rajasthan, these building have left little to anybody’s imagination. Capitol Hill and Westminster do it for the democratic world. The tilt of economic power to oil has its clear cut manifestations on the skylines of most of the Middle Eastern cities.
As there has been distinct shift to digital technologies, those who control the levers of it have been creating edifices to match their economic power and global reach. All major empires spread over lots of countries but this digital empire has real global reach. The ambience, utility and ease of working apart these iconic buildings / office complexes would be studied for its impact on human mind and it enhancing the brand to unassailable levels. The feel of this started with the creation of exclusive Apple stores, which by its design, ambience & decor made a distinct impact on the consumer.
Apple Park at Cupertino is one such structure. It has a circular design on a suburban site totaling 175 acres, four storied, of approximately 2,800,000 square feet. Steve Jobs wanted it ”look less like an office park and more like a natural refuge.” Googleplex is another iconic complex, as name suggests of IT behemoth Google,3,100,000 square feet of space. It is located in Mountain View, California. Architecture reaches a new level at Amazon in The Spheres, showcases cutting edge design.
”The enormous orbs are constructed of glass pentagons held together with miles of steel and rebar but packed with lush green tropical plant life.” Closer home we have our own Infosys in Electronic City, Bengaluru, providing a stunning architecture. These buliding declare their arrival to the world stage, utility, requirement etc apart. With AI hitting the world stage DeepMind is announcing its arrival by opening a huge new London Headquarters in 2020 with a 11 storey state of art buliding at King’s Cross. The story goes on.
BUILDINGS DEFINE POWER.
Sanjay Sahay