Tech temples had begun to seem anachronistic even before covid-19 washed up on California’s shores
“THIS IS one of the healthiest buildings in San Francisco.” Giving a tour of the new headquarters of Uber on a recent afternoon, Michael Huaco, the ride-hailing giant’s global head of “workplace and real estate”, does not hide his pride. And he has plenty to be proud of. Employees make their way to their work stations up a wood-panelled staircase, then through a sun-filled atrium which doubles as the conduit for the building’s natural ventilation.
Tech is not the first to suffer from the “edifice complex”. From the Chrysler Building and Sears Tower to the Bank of China’s iconic Hong Kong headquarters, companies have always erected monuments to their success. Technology firms have reasons beyond self-aggrandisement to covet posh quarters. Fancy workplaces help such businesses, which live and die by the quality of their human capital, to attract employees, in effect becoming a key part of the pay package.
Offices will also look different. Firms are throwing out desks and creating spaces for employees to socialise and collaborate. Okta, a digital-identity manager, is becoming a “dynamic working” space. In its remodelled headquarters most rooms will be easy to reconfigure, and let people gather more easily. M Moser Associates expects the pre-pandemic ratio of half of office space reserved for individual work and less than a third for meetings to flip.
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