Her Majesty's Secret Donut

Picture credit: http://www.wired.com
In the next month or so, the 4,000 or so cryptographers and intelligence officials associated with the UK Government move into their new haunt. The agency credited with breaking the Enigma cipher during World War II will be 'oused in a 1.1 million square foot, doughnut-shaped building. The cost? Around $630 million. Some of the features include:

Armor-Plated Rooftop The roof, sheathed in a special aluminum, is designed to withstand airplane impacts. Wiretap Central A chamber under the interior courtyard shields the computer center, an 1,850-mile, billion-dollar network of fiber-optic cable that monitors email and phone calls around the world. It's surrounded by a series of tunnels and shelters. Stuctural Integrity The round exterior forces shock waves from explosions to ripple around the building, diffusing as they go. Tough skin A one-story, 2-foot-thick concrete wall is topped with three stories of blast-proof glass. Privacy windows A second wall of glass, hung behind the first and composed of panels set at irregular angles, obscures views from outside.

Wired: Her Majesty's Secret Donut