A corporate headquarters (HQ) is a symbol of a company’s prominence, prestige, and culture; it’s a place that represents where it sees itself in the world. From past architectural monuments such as Juan Trippe’s imposing brutalist Pan Am Building – known today as the MetLife Building – erected in the middle of New York City’s Park Avenue in Manhattan, to modern-day marvels such as Seattle-based Amazon with its biosphere domes to Apple’s discshaped HQ in California, these buildings symbolise the brands and epitomise their wider values.
Many of today’s HQ designs follow more of the Silicon Valley approach of low-rise sprawling campuses set around the natural environment and feature more open, collaborative spaces. These campuses can be almost described as a mini city with on-site dining, services, entertainment and, in some cases, living spaces, all being present.