How often have you walked past an industrial site and thought “Wow, that’s a great industrial estate!” I imagine it wouldn’t be that often. Most are just squares of brick, concrete, and metal, designed to be functional, rather than inspiring. Business continues here, no matter what the buildings look like. The same is true of most property around the world, but there are some industrial areas and retail parks that may be worth mentioning. Below I have mentioned a few that are at least a little different.

Silicon Valley

Calling this an industrial estate may seem a bit unfair, but that’s what it is. It is a world famous area, close to San Francisco, consisting of some of the best known and most innovative companies in the electronics and information industries. New ideas seem to be born there every few years, and the number of highly-skilled workers that make a living in Silicon Valley is greater than in any comparable property. With companies like Google, Apple, and Yahoo among those headquartered there, you can see how this estate is home to many of the most innovative companies on the planet.

Healam Bridge

This industrial estate is not as famous as Silicon Valley, but it is important for other reasons. This historic industrial estate dates back over 2,000 years and is believed to have supplied everything the famous Roman 9th Legion required. From food supplies to building materials, everything was made together with the legion fort. Among the discoveries made are mills for preparing flour and factories for making pottery, brewing beer and processing meat. The estate was discovered by accident, when work was underway to improve a British road, and has given insight into life for British workers under Roman rule.

Suzhou Industrial Park

This is an industrial park with a difference. Located in Suzhou, China, it is a joint effort by the Chinese and Singaporean governments to develop a new type of industrial park. The Chinese saw how successful Singapore had become in developing its business and workforce, and they wanted to use their experience to develop China. The Suzhou Industrial Park was developed not only to help businesses, but also to educate the workforce. When it originally opened in 1994, the 288 square km site already had a higher education city situated at its center. The city of education contains many universities, and they have already produced a generation of workers, who will help improve the future of their country. The number of learning institutions is constantly growing, and they are even becoming international associations. This is an industrial park the world could learn from.

Industrial estates and business parks are not the same landscapes we imagine, in reality they take many different forms and offer different services. They will never be as interesting as St. Paul’s Cathedral, but they don’t claim to be. They’re trying to give businesses a chance to operate efficiently, and that’s what they’re doing all over the world.