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Google. Facebook. Apple. Uber.
Director James Ponsoldt had a plethora of references to draw from when setting the scene for his new movie, “The Circle,” released today in theaters across the United States and beyond. Building on Dave Eggers’ original novel, upon which the film is based, real-world tech companies have provided all manner of visual inspiration in recent years, and architecture enthusiasts in particular might experience feelings of déjà vu as different parts of The Circle’s headquarters are revealed throughout the 110-minute run time.
Most people who have read Eggers’ book seem to agree that The Circle is most akin to Google as a company. Encompassing everything from email and social media to personal banking, the organization possesses a powerful grip over people’s everyday lives online — all wrapped up in a slick, exceedingly user-friendly interface. It’s “the chaos of the web made … elegant,” says The Circle’s newest employee, protagonist Mae Holland (Emma Watson).
The Circle Headquarters, located somewhere in the vicinity of San Francisco, Calif., bears a striking resemblance to …
… the recently completed Apple Park in Cupertino; image via SFGate.
When it comes to architecture, though, it is clear that the physical domains of other tech companies have played to role of precedent. Viewing The Circle’s campus from above, clear comparisons can be made with Apple Park, designed by Foster + Partners and coincidentally opening the very same month as Ponsoldt’s movie is released. For the fictional company, the perfectly circular layout is achingly on-brand, but also taps into the ultra-sleek, corporate purity epitomized by Apple.
Carefully designed green spaces surround The Circle campus.
The green roof of Facebook’s headquarters (left) and the parklands of Apple’s new campus (rendering, right); images via Headquartersnumbers.com and TreeHugger
While Apple Park’s ecological credentials are displayed in the form of solar panels sweeping across the surface of its vast ring of offices, The Circle’s roof is covered with greenery, more akin to the recently completed headquarters of another (in)famous tech company: Facebook. The Frank Gehry–designed office in Menlo Park, California, is topped with a park of neatly mown grass, young trees and crisscrossing paths where employees can escape their intense working environment below.
A typical Circle workstation
For Facebook, Apple and The Circle alike, elevated gardens and manicured meadows project a sense of utopian serenity that serves to mask what might be a more dystopian space within — offices full of competitive angst, saturated with the harsh blue light of computer screens. That said, few architects would complain about the technological setup of each Circle employee … FIVE HD monitors? Yes please! Perhaps the Uber-esque logo on every display is a little much, though …
Mae is introduced to her new colleagues amidst The Circle’s contemporary office setting.
Facebook’s Menlo Park Headquarters; images by Mark Pike andCory Maryott on Instagram
Other interior details in The Circle HQ further echo Facebook’s mother ship, touted as the “world’s largest open office.” Large, floor-to-ceiling windows allow natural light to penetrate the huge workspace, while there is a glimpse of a modern mural on the wall as Mae is introduced to her new colleagues. Indeed, art is a key component of Facebook’s own expansive interiors — Gehry created an architectural blank canvas, upon which 15 artists were commissioned to make their mark and transform the identity of different spaces within the building.
“We used to have fun and see things, and now it’s all filtered through … this,” says Mae’s boyfriend Mercer (Ellar Coltrane).
Evoking these slick yet homely aesthetics, the office of The Circle presents a calculated air of optimism just like Facebook, Google and the rest. Yet behind this Instagram-friendly façade, there lies a dark side, one in which surveillance and data tracking dominates to the extent that no one feels safe, least of all the company’s own employees. This is something that Mae soon becomes all too aware of, no matter how polished her working environment appears. Try as they might, architects can’t hide the sinister intentions of their clients forever.
Bailey (Tom Hanks) presents his vision in a huge theater, somewhat similar to …
Steve Jobs’ keynote addresses for Apple; image via Slideshare.
The Circle’s ethos of aggressive transparency is evangelized with persuasive rhetoric by company founder Bailey (Tom Hanks). Architecturally, the setting for Bailey’s presentations strongly echoes that of an aforementioned tech company, one that regularly relies on theater as a powerful marketing tool. Yes, Bailey is to The Circle what Steve Jobs was to Apple: a masterful thespian, strutting across the stage with a message of hope, backed up by carefully crafted graphics on an immense digital screen.
For all the similarities with Apple and Facebook, though, The Circle still appears most reminiscent of Google — maybe not in architectural terms, but certainly in technological spirit. With Google’s own headquarters still in development and set for construction in the coming months, James Ponsoldt may find himself with plenty of fresh inspiration for The Circle’s sequel …
Architizer is thrilled to reveal the 12th Annual A+Awards Finalists. See which projects and firms made the cut and have your say in who wins a coveted Popular Choice A+Award. Cast your vote today >
