Description

Silicon Graphics’ SGI Amphitheatre Technology Centre in Mountain View stands out from the mass of rather faceless buildings in Silicon Valley in two respects. On the outside, playful volumes, high-quality materials and cheerful colours proclaim “serious fun,” the motto of the company, which develops visualisation technologies. Inside, the architects have placed great emphasis on supporting communications processes spatially.

SGI develops high performance computers and graphics-oriented solutions. Software and hardware engineers make up about half the staff and form the creative core of the company. They work in an extremely concentrated manner and for this reason tend towards unconventional working hours and isolation, which contrasts starkly with the company’s need to promote development and innovation through the spontaneous exchange of ideas. Therefore, in the planning, particular emphasis was laid on quality of internal communication in addition to the obligatory exit strategy and flexibility.

The implementation of information and communication technologies is a matter of course in Silicon Valley. Until now, little value has been placed on innovative spatial concepts. At SGI, ideally these range from spacious circulation areas organised so that they flow, through private kitchens to the central plaza where all the staff meet. Four autonomous buildings (at a total floor area of 16,000 m², comparatively small) are grouped around this plaza. The campus buildings are set in a landscaped park and linked by the main access ways that are continued as bridges outside. In order to promote a sense of community, the workplaces are arranged in ‘neighbourhoods.’ About seventy employees share a spacious kitchen with an adjoining common room that serves for relaxation and the exchange of ideas.

Like many of the companies in Silicon Valley – which are still young for the most part, SGI’s hierarchies are flat. Accordingly, there are only three types of workplace, the ‘cave’ and two varieties of cubicles. The engineers’ small private offices (3.5 x 3.5 m²) are referred to as ‘caves.’ All other staff, including management, work in cubicles in the open-plan space. The engineers’ offices are located in the centre, in direct proximity to the laboratories, so that the window surfaces remain open and all workplaces have daylight.

The excellence of the design lies in its implementation of a sustainable concept based on a combination of several measures. Above all, it stands out for its exploita­tion of a high proportion of natural daylight (unusual for American office buildings). The large-scale land­scaped park, a gift from SGI to the city of Mountain view, and the intelligent reuse of a contaminated land site are also noteworthy.

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Originally published in: Rainer Hascher, Simone Jeska, Birgit Klauck, Office Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2002.