It started nearly a decade ago. When completed it will be the same diameter as the Pentagon, sit on a site of 175 acres, and hold 13,000 employees. Apple Campus 2 – The 2.8 million square foot, four story circular building, will be Apple’s new headquarters.
Drone footage from Rumble Viral has given us a bird’s eye view of the gigantic construction project. The building is more than a mile around and will feature over 6 km of curved glass windows looking out into the central courtyard. The courtyard itself will contain a park modeled aftere the California landscapes that former CEO Steve Jobs grew up around.
Apple’s commitment to green
Few companies have taken renewable energy as seriously as Apple. In 2014 the company went 100% green in the United States – Every Apple retail store, corporate office, and data center in the country was run by renewable energy. This same commitment is being focused into their new campus.
Much of the outdoor space will be reserved for bike paths, trees, and plants. Apple Vice President of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson has said that 80% of the site will be dedicated to green space. The building itself will not need air conditioning or heating for 9 months out of the year thanks to natural ventilation, and its electrical needs will be met by a dedicated clean energy power plant. Even the water supply will come from recycled sources and be shared with the former Apple headquarters at Cupertino via a pipeline.
Apple is supplying 1,000 bicycles for its employees to use around the campus.
Improving communication
Each section of the campus is broken up by cafes and lobbies, allowing the architects to think critically about department location within the building. Proximity will be taken into account in both the horizontal placement of offices as well as vertical. This will help keep departments with similar goals near each other. If someone were to need to travel to the other side of the complex, however, Apple is supplying 1,000 bicycles for its employees to use around the campus.
Invoking a sense of community
Apple has always had a deep sense of community in their brand. Specialized operating systems, programs, and individual support has made many customers feel like their part of an exclusive club. That feeling is being extended to the employees with this new HQ. A giant 1,000 seat auditorium will allow the company to give big presentations and announcements in house.
A $75 million dollar wellness center will cater to the needs of the 20,000 Apple employees currently residing in Silicon Valley.
As is customary, much of the space will be closed to the public, allowing employees to discuss sensitive matters in the open without fear of leaking information.
The construction project has gone over schedule and over budget, but the plan is to open the building near the end of 2016 or early 2017.
Enjoyed this look at the new Apple HQ? Look out for our article coming next month to show you Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.
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