The Doughnut built in 2003

While the CIA and NSA are notorious for spying on the American people, Britain’s surveillance state may be even more aggressive. 

Sitting in a suburban area of Cheltenham, England

that stands in contrast to the spy’s nest at its heart, The Doughnut is one of three headquarters devoted to the British Intelligence services. 

Built in 2003, the futuristic complex has come to symbolize governmental spying in Britain in much the same way that the Pentagon is seen as a symbol for the US Military. 

It consists of three linked sections that each stand four-stories tall, all encircling a central courtyard. 

Since spying is a boom business these days thanks to all of varied forms of communication, the main ring building was soon bursting at the seams with GCHQ employees and a small set of ancillary buildings was also added to the site.

In addition to its nick-name, the building is run through with a central walkway that employees have dubbed, “The Street,” because compounds for massive espionage agencies can’t have too many pet names.

Today the secretive spy ring (pun intended) houses over 5,000 GCHQ employees who toil away at surveillance tasks to keep the people of Britain safe, privacy be damned.

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Apple's round building may be completed this year.

It is not nick named the Doughnut but the flying saucer or Space Ship.

Steve Jobs once said that the new campus meant Apple had "a shot at building the best office building in the world."

As you can see above, the British kind of beat Apple on that front.

When Apple's Campus 2 is finished, it will house more than 13,000 employees over 18 acres, and it will include a massive fitness center as well as a state-of-the-art auditorium for Apple keynote presentations.