Adobe World Headquarters facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Adobe World Headquarters |
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| Alternative names | Adobe Systems Headquarters complex Adobe Systems I, II & III |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Architectural style | Modernism |
| Location | 151 South Almaden Boulevard San Jose, California |
| Coordinates | 37°19′52″N 121°53′38″W / 37.331°N 121.894°W |
| Opening | West: 1996 East: 1998 Almaden: 2003 |
| Owner | Adobe Systems |
| Height | |
| Roof | West Tower: 78.9 m (259 ft) East Tower: 71.9 m (236 ft) Almaden Tower: 72 m (236 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | West Tower: 18 East Tower: 16 Almaden Tower: 18 |
| Floor area | 980,953 sq ft (91,133.5 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabau |
| Structural engineer | Nishkian Menninger |
| Main contractor | Devcon Construction |
The Adobe World Headquarters is a group of tall office buildings in downtown San Jose, California. These buildings are the main offices for Adobe Systems, a company famous for computer software like Photoshop and Acrobat. They are also home to a cool light art display called the San Jose Semaphore.
Contents
Exploring the Adobe Towers
The Adobe headquarters has three main buildings. These are called the West, East, and Almaden towers. They stand on top of a large parking garage.
West Tower: The First Building
The West Tower was the first building finished in 1996. It has 18 floors and stands about 79 meters (259 feet) tall. This tower was once the sixth tallest building in San Jose. It has a lot of office space, about 391,000 square feet.
East Tower: A New Addition
The East Tower was built next to the West Tower in 1998. It has 16 floors and is about 72 meters (236 feet) tall. This tower adds another 325,000 square feet of office space. Both the West and East towers are used by Adobe's research, development, sales, and marketing teams.
Almaden Tower: The Latest Building
The Almaden Tower was completed in 2003. It has 17 floors and is about 72 meters (236 feet) tall. This tower added 273,000 square feet of space. The Almaden Tower is where Adobe's administration and staff work.
Green Design: Eco-Friendly Buildings
The Adobe headquarters buildings are known for being very eco-friendly. This means they were designed to be good for the environment.
Energy Star and LEED Certification
The West Tower has an Energy Star label from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This shows it uses energy very efficiently. In 2006, all three towers received a special award called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. This is the highest award from the U.S. Green Building Council. It means the buildings meet high standards for being sustainable and kind to the environment.
San Jose Semaphore: A Secret Code in Lights
The Almaden Tower has a unique art display called the "San Jose Semaphore." This artwork was created in 2006 by an artist named Ben Rubin.
How the Semaphore Works
The San Jose Semaphore uses four rotating lights. These lights turn in a special pattern every 7.2 seconds. This pattern is actually a secret code!
Decoding the First Message
In 2007, two people named Mark Snesrud and Bob Mayo figured out the code. They discovered that the lights were spelling out a message from a book. The message was from Thomas Pynchon's novel, The Crying of Lot 49. They even wrote a paper explaining how they cracked the code.
The Second Riddle
In 2012, a new riddle appeared in the lights. It took five years, but in 2017, a high school teacher named Jimmy Waters from Tennessee solved it. He noticed that a part of the code might represent silence in an audio recording. When he put the full sequence into audio software and changed the pitch, he heard something amazing. It was Neil Armstrong's famous "One small step for man" speech from the 1969 Apollo moon landing.
