Take a peek inside Apple's new HQ
The Apple Park is vast. Nicknamed the spaceship, it can house more than 12,000 employees in one central building measuring more than 260,000 square metres. The doughnut-shaped structure is surrounded by green space, with 80 per cent of the entire site made up of green space. The building, conceived by Steve Jobs and designed by Norman Foster, is one of the biggest in the world.
The entire facility is powered by renewable energy. Solar panels on the roof generate up to 17 megawatts of power, enough for 75 per cent of demand during peak times. The rest of the building’s needs are met by onsite fuel cells powered by biofuel or natural gas.
Alongside the campus, Apple has also built a two-story, 1,870 square-metre visitor centre, complete with a café, observation deck and an Apple Store. This building alone is estimated to have cost $80 (£60m) million.
On September 12, Apple Park was opened up to the world’s press for the first time for the unveiling of the iPhone X and iPhone 8. Here’s what it looks like, inside and out.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images01The campus is one mile (1609 metres) in circumference, with a diameter of 464 metres. The main circular building has four stories above ground and three stories underground. All its external walls are made of glass.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images02Apple paid an estimated $160 million for the land Apple Park sits on. In 2013, the total cost of the project was estimated at $5 billion (£3bn).
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images03The Steve Jobs Theatre, named after the co-founder and former CEO of Apple, is located on a slight hill on the campus.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images04Above ground, the auditorium’s lobby has cylindrical-shaped glass walls and a carbon fibre roof.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images05The auditorium's 73-metric-ton roof is made of 44 panels measuring 21 metres by 3.4 metres.
JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images06The auditorium itself is underground, with 1,000 seats and 350 parking spaces.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images07Apple Park has seven cafés, the largest of which is split over three levels and seats 3,000 people.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images08The inner circle of the main building contains a 30-acre park with a pond, trees and pathways.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images09Steve Jobs, in his last public appearance before his death in October 2011 described his vision for the new headquarters: “It's got a gorgeous courtyard in the middle, and a lot more. It's a circle, so it's curved all the way round. This is not the cheapest way to build something. Every pane of glass in the main building will be curved. We have a shot, at building the best office building in the world. I really do think that architecture students will come here to see it.”
Comments
Back to top
