After several delays, Apple’s new headquarters Campus 2 is nearing completion and will be ready for use sometime this year. Affectionately called “Flying Spaceship,” the futuristic saucer-like facility is located in Cupertino, California: at the heart of Silicon Valley. Campus 2 was Steve Jobs’ brainchild and one of the last projects he was working on before his death. Now, a decade since its inception, Apple’s Flying Spaceship looks ready to launch. Here are five things you should know about the new headquarters:
Apple Campus 2: 5 Things To Know
1. Steve Jobs’ Vision: 10 Years In The Making
Campus 2’s groundbreaking took place on November 2013, signaling the official start of construction work. Unofficially, however, plans for Apple’s new headquarters have been around since 2006, maybe even longer. Jobs announced his intention to build a second campus to the city council of Cupertino in April 2006. Three years later, he contacted the architect Norman Foster for help designing his vision. Then in 2011, Jobs presented his proposal to the Cupertino City Council.
Initial projections placed the move-in date in 2015. Setbacks have pushed this date back. These included: a prolonged approval process with Cupertino, the departure of the original contractors for the project, and Apple’s exacting demands (such as insisting that the gaps between surfaces be 1/32 of an inch when the standard in the U.S. is 1/8 of an inch).
2. Apple Campus 2: A $5 Billion Apple Icon
This precise attention to detail might seem absurd, but Apple isn’t just constructing a building – it’s making an icon, representative of what it stands for. And what it stands for is a minimalist’s aesthetic dream, with very precise standards.
Apple’s Flying Spaceship is believed to cost around $5 billion. This includes $75 million spent on a wellness center that will cater to 20,000 Apple employees in the area.
3. Futuristic Design Resembles A Flying Spaceship
Flying Spaceship looks exactly like it sounds. Think of a large ring, a donut or a hadron collider and you have Apple’s new headquarters: a nature park ringed by a shiny structure that is the main building. This circular structure will be four stories high. Campus 2 was designed so Apple employees could work either inside or outside, and 500 long tables have been commissioned for the park area. In total, Flying Spaceship covers 2.8 million square feet. That’s half the size of Vatican City!
4. Apple Campus 2, Environmentally-Friendly and Self-Sufficient
Jobs was intent that Campus 2 be environmentally-friendly. In keeping with his vision, Apple endeavored to make the new headquarters as eco-friendly as possible. Along with a nature park containing over 7000 trees, Flying Spaceship includes jogging paths and trails for cycling and walking (bikes are provided). There are also plans to restore the plant life around the area.
Additionally, Campus 2 will be solar-powered. Thousands of solar panels will be installed on the roof to lower the building’s carbon footprint. The headquarters will also use recycled water and intends to share the supply with Cupertino. Apple has also announced that the main building won’t use air conditioning or heating for most of the year. Instead, it will use a natural ventilations system.
5. iPhone-Inspired Architecture and – Toilets?
Form wins over functionality. Apple’s signature design can be found everywhere in its new headquarters, even in the most unlikely of places. Elevator buttons look like iPhone’s home buttons. The curved glass exterior is also familiar. Even the toilets share Apple’s sleek design!
If the concept of working inside a spaceship isn’t cool enough, Apple also decided to upgrade the building’s aesthetic. Campus 2’s exterior will be coated with 6 kilometers of curved glass, a world record. This will give the building the same smooth, sleek appearance of any of Apple’s products. Employees will be able to look into the nature park or to the landscapes on the other side of the ring.
Youtuber Matthew Roberts has been tracking the progress of Apple’s Flying Spaceship via drone. One of his newer videos can be viewed below: