Some of the world’s most iconic buildings are commercial units. In the past, the most impressive properties have usually been constructed for royalty, governments, or religious institutions. In the world today, however, increasing numbers of iconic buildings are built as commercial units, often with private businesses funding their design and construction.
Here at Boxpod, we have a wide range of commercial units for rent, whether you are looking for an office unit, warehouse, workshop, or retail unit to rent, or indeed, looking for listing space for your own commercial unit if you are a landlord.
In this article, we are going to take a look at some of our favourite commercial office units around the world.
10 Downing Street, London, UK
One of Britain’s, if not the world’s, most iconic offices is 10 Downing Street – the official residence and workplace of the British Prime Minister since 1735. Its famous black front door (replacing the red one in 1766) has been the backdrop to many historical events.
The building was built by Sir George Downing in 1682 and used as a private residence until it was bought by the government in 1732. The building has over 100 rooms, which include the Cabinet Room, the State Dining Room, the Prime Minister’s living quarters, the infamous Rose Garden, and the iconic Grand Staircase with its portraits of former Prime Ministers.
Lego Headquarters, Billund, Denmark
Lego is one of the world’s most beloved toys amongst both adults and children alike. Known for its use in the construction of anything from buildings to cars to spaceships, it only makes sense that the brand’s headquarters design would be based on its famous building blocks. We often talk about how a business’s commercial unit base can reflect the company’s branding, and this is a perfect example.
The commercial unit was designed by C.F Moller architects and was opened to Lego in 2022. The main building is ‘blocky’ and rectangular in design – as if it could have been built using the iconic blocks. Features include giant colourful Lego blocks and a huge Lego man.
The interior of the commercial unit also reflects the branding, especially through the shapes and colours present.
Apple Park, California, USA
Apple Park in Cupertino, California, also known as Campus 2 homes over 12,000 employees at Apple’s corporate headquarters. It has also been nicknamed ‘The Spaceship’ and ‘The Ring’ – due to its ring-shaped structure. The unit, with an area of about 64 m2, sits inside an area of about 1.46 km2 of green space – the initial brief being that the campus looks like a nature refuge, with the seamless ring signifying perfection.
The office unit was designed by Norman Foster, in a ring shape with seven stories – four aboveground and three underground, with a courtyard in the middle. The ring shape with curved glass walls gives all employees a maximum amount of natural light, and the two miles’ worth of trails in the grounds give employees the chance to get out and enjoy the nature in which they work.
The unit was designed with sustainability in mind. The natural areas include apple, apricot, and olive orchards, an artificial pond, and a herb garden, and its enormous roof area is entirely covered with solar panels.
The unit includes seven cafes, a fitness centre, and a 1000-seater theatre.
Leeza SOHO, Beijing, China
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the Leeza SOHO provides 172,800 m2 of office space over 45 stories to a range of small and medium-sized businesses. Within an outer glazed shell – giving spectacular views of the city, the building is divided into two twisted columns, separated by an atrium that runs the full height of the building – almost 145 m.
The unit connects the two columns across the atrium on four different floors, and the glass outer shell enables natural light to flood in. It is also in a prime location to be connected to a number of different transport lines, yet to be terminated.
The design of the building is such that excellent ventilation and interior climate control are provided, and this, along with other features such as doubly insulated unitised glass, high-efficiency pumps, fans, and lighting, exhaust-air heat recovery, water collection, solar panels, and a green roof, has gained the building a LEEDS Gold Certificate.
SIS Building, London, UK
The SIS Building is also commonly known as the MI6 Building – the home of the British Secret Intelligence Service is found on the banks of the River Thames beside the Vauxhall Bridge, at 85 Albert Embankment. The building was designed and constructed in the 1980s by Terry Farrell with inspiration from industrial modernist architecture (buildings such as Battersea Power Station), the art deco era, as well as native central and South American architecture, such as Mayan or Aztec temples.
The building employs the use of different-sized blocks of aluminium and 25 different types of glass, creating 60 separate areas of roof. There are also numerous rooms on an underground level, a restaurant, a gym and sports hall, and even squash courts,
As expected, security is the most important factor for the design of the intelligence unit. There is rumoured to be a secret tunnel that leads under the Thames to the government in Whitehall, it has two moats – and probably many more secret features that only those in the know are aware of!
Final Thoughts
Here at Boxpod, we love everything relating to commercial units, whether it is an old, traditional unit steeped in national history or an ultra-modern green building. A commercial unit isn’t just a building where you run a business from; it can be somewhere that embodies your business ethic, essence, and branding, improves your efficiency as a business, and can be used to attract the employees that suit your business to a tee.
If you are looking for your business’s new base, why not have a look at the range of commercial units that we have here at Boxpod?
For commercial unit landlords, we can list your property and help you to find your next commercial tenants.