Apple Park — BrandWiki

Apple Park

Overview

Apple Park

alternate names	Apple Campus 2; One Apple Park Way
status	Complete
address	1 Apple Park Way‡R1R‡
location town	Cupertino, California
location country	United States
coordinates	37.3349°N, -122.009°W
namesake	Apple Inc.
groundbreaking date	2013
construction start date

Apple Park, also known as Apple Campus 2, is the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc., located in Cupertino, California, United States. It was opened to employees in April 2017, while construction was still underway. It replaced Apple Campus as the company's corporate headquarters.[8]

The main building's scale and circular groundscraper design,[9][10] by Norman Foster,[11] has earned the structure the media nickname "the spaceship".[12][13] Located on a suburban site totaling 1.46 km2, it houses more than 12,000 employees in one central four-story circular building of approximately 0.26 km2.

completion date	November 17, 2017

opened date	April 2017‡R2R‡

inauguration date	September 12, 2017

architect	Norman Foster‡R3R‡

structural engineer	Arup‡R4R‡

services engineer	Arup‡R4R‡

owner	Apple Inc.

cost	US$5 billion (the land cost was estimated at US$160 million)‡R5R‡

floor area	2820000 ft2

floor count	4‡R6R‡

parking	14,200

pushpin map	United States San Francisco Bay Area#California#United States

map caption	Location in the San Francisco Bay Area##Location in the U.S. state of California##Location in the contiguous United States

pushpin label	Apple Park

architectural style	Neo-futurism

other dimensions	Accommodating more than 15,000 staff (as of May 2023)

architecture firm	Foster and Partners‡R6R‡

material	Aluminum, glass, concrete‡R7R‡

diameter	0.46 km

circumference	1.46 km

grounds area	0.26 km2‡R2R‡

History

In April 2006, Apple's then CEO Steve Jobs announced to the city council of Cupertino that Apple had acquired nine contiguous properties to build a second campus, the Apple Campus 2.[15][16] The idea for a new headquarters was conceived by Jobs and Apple's then chief designer Jony Ive.[17] Ive was Apple's immediate choice to design the project, going on to work very closely together with Norman Foster across five years, designing every detail, from the glass panels to the elevator buttons.[18][19]

Purchases of the needed properties were made through the company Hines Interests,[20][21] which in at least some cases did not disclose the fact that Apple was the ultimate buyer;[21] Philip Mahoney, a partner with a local commercial real estate brokerage, noted that this is common practice in attempts to arrange the purchase of contiguous land made up of multiple parcels with separate owners, in order to keep costs from skyrocketing and not reveal the company's plans to competitors.[21] Among the sellers of the properties were SummerHill Homes (a plot of 8 acre) and Hewlett-Packard (three buildings of their campus in Cupertino).[21]

Until April 2008, Apple had not sought the necessary permits to begin construction, so it was estimated that the project would not be ready in 2010 as originally proposed; however, the buildings on the site were held by Apple for its operations. In November 2010 the San Jose Mercury News revealed[22] that Apple had bought an additional 98 acre no longer used by HP, just north across Pruneridge Ave. This space had been the HP campus in Cupertino before it was relocated to Palo Alto.

On June 7, 2011, Jobs presented to the Cupertino City Council the details of the architectural design of the new buildings and their surroundings.[23] Afflicted with pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs resigned from Apple in August 2011 and died a few months later on October 5th.[24]

On October 15, 2013, Cupertino City Council unanimously approved Apple's plans for the new campus after a six-hour debate.[25] Shortly thereafter, demolition work began to prepare the site for construction.[26]

Originally expected to break ground in 2013 and open in 2015, the project was delayed and started in 2014.[27][28] On February 22, 2017, Apple announced that the official name of the campus would be "Apple Park", and the auditorium would be named the "Steve Jobs Theater".[2]

The campus opened for workers in April 2017, despite continued construction work.[29] This was followed by the first event in the Steve Jobs Theater, which took place on September 12, 2017.[30] The Apple Park Visitor Center opened two months and five days later, on November 17, 2017.[31]

As a consequence of the construction of Apple Park in the area, surrounding streets have seen increased tourism as well as rising real estate values, due to Apple employees' desire to live near their workplace.[32][33]

Design and construction

Steve Jobs, in June 2011, in his final public appearance before his death, was quoted as saying: "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.[36]"

The ring-shaped building, advertised as "a perfect circle", was not originally planned as such. The inner rim and outer rim on each floor are left open as walkways. There are eight buildings, separated by nine mini-atria. The campus is 4805 ft in circumference, with a diameter of 1512 ft. The one circular building houses most employees.[37] It is four stories above the ground and three stories underground.[38] Apple created life-size mock-ups of all parts of the building to analyze any design issues.

The campus design places the roads underground. Cars are parked underground and in two multistory parking garages. The campus uses only glass for its walls and views of the inner courtyard as well as of the landscape facing the exterior of the building.[39][40] Around 83,000 sqft of space is for meetings and breakout spaces in the building. The inner part of the circular building contains a 30 acre park featuring a pond, with fruit trees and winding pathways inspired by California fruit orchards.

Apple brought to the construction project the same "fanatical attention to detail" which the company is famous for lavishing upon its products.[41] Apple insisted on extraordinarily tight tolerances, even for parts of the structure normally hidden from view.[41] Construction workers were often required to wear gloves to minimize accidental damage to surfaces.[41] All interior wood used for furniture was harvested from a certain species of maple, with Apple working with construction companies from 19 countries for designs and materials.[42]

A breathing, hollow concrete slab acts as floor, ceiling, and HVAC system. A total of 4,300 such slabs were used.[43] Some of the slabs weigh 60,000 lb.[44]

Construction

During construction, the building's structure was started by Skanska and DPR, but they were removed from the job for undisclosed reasons.[45] Apple hired Rudolph and Sletten and Holder Construction as its new general contractors, and they completed the structure, envelope, and interior buildout.[46] Truebeck Construction (then known as BNBTBuilders) worked on the exterior landscaping, Steve Jobs Theater, and the health and fitness center; a joint venture of BNBTBuilders and Webcor Builders worked on an adjacent group of research and development buildings; McCarthy Building Companies built the parking garage; and Granite Construction performed road widening and utility work.[46] The project created approximately 13,000 full-time construction jobs.[41]

Facilities

Cafés

The campus has seven cafés, with the largest being a three-level café for 3,000 sitting people. It has light-colored stone lining and glass railing with no metal support and is surrounded by extensive landscaping. The mezzanine space of 20,000 sqft[57] can accommodate 600 people and 1,750 seats on terraces outside, with a capacity to serve 15,000 lunches a day, housed by specially designed 500 tables made of solid Spessart white oak, measuring 18 ft long and 4 ft wide.

The sports tables and benches resemble those in Apple Stores.

Auditorium

Officially known as the Steve Jobs Theater,[2] after the co-founder and former CEO of Apple, the facility is located atop a hill on the campus. It is an underground, 1,000-seat auditorium intended for Apple product launches and press meets. It has a large above-ground cylinder-shaped lobby with stairs down to the auditorium. The theater has 350 parking spaces on North Tantau Avenue and a pedestrian path leading to the main campus located northwest of the theater.

The theater plays host to many types of events, from Apple Events such as product announcements, WWDC (Apple's Developers Conference), and shareholder's meetings, to special Apple Music events, such as performances by Billie Eilish and Ludovico Einaudi.

The theater's lobby has cylindrical-shaped glass walls and no support columns, which give an unhindered 360-degree view of the surrounding campus. The 80 ST carbon-fiber roof, made of 44 identical panels, was supplied by the Dubai-based company, Premier Composite Technologies. Each panel is 70 ft long and 11 ft wide and locks in the middle with the other panels.[58] It is the largest carbon-fiber roof and the largest glass-supported structure in the world.

The theater also includes a 42 ft high glass elevator that rotates 171 degrees from the bottom floor to the upper lobby level. The elevator is made from chemically tempered glass, and is considered to be the tallest free-standing glass elevator in the world.[59]

The theater's first press event was held on September 12, 2017, where the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K were announced.[60]

Wellness center

A 100,000 sqft fitness center is located in the northwest of the campus. Apart from gym equipment, the fitness center features other amenities like changing rooms, showers, laundry services, and rooms for group sessions.[61]

Research and development facility

The research and development facilities feature two large 300,000 sqft buildings on the southern edge of the campus and are occupied by more than 2,000 people. The top floor of each building houses the department comprising industrial design and human interface teams.[62]

Observatory

The Apple Park Observatory, which opened in 2024, is an event space and gallery meant to "provide public showcases of [Apple's] latest technology."[63][64] The subterranean building, which has been compared to James Turrell's skylit spaces, is made of terrazzo, natural stone, and timber, like the nearby Steve Jobs Theatre.[65]

Transportation

Bus

Employees traveling by bus will board and depart from the bus station, which leads to the main campus via two white staircases.[38] The area is also served by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), which runs a local bus service from Cupertino to nearby cities. Transit consultant Jarrett Walker, who worked with the VTA on providing service to the campus, criticized the campus' design due to its poor access to public transit.[66]

Parking

Parking is located both underground and in two large parking structures accommodating approximately 14,200 employees.[67] Cupertino regulations required a minimum of 11,000 parking spaces,[68]

Bus

Parking

Parking is located both underground and in two large parking structures accommodating approximately 14,200 employees.[67] Cupertino regulations required a minimum of 11,000 parking spaces,[68] 700 of which have electric vehicle charging stations.[69]

There are 2,000 parking spaces in the subterranean parking garage. The parking is managed by sensors and apps, which manage the traffic and parking spaces.[70]

Cycling

There are 1,000 bikes on the campus for employees to get around, with miles of cycling and jogging trails all over the 175 acre campus.[71] There are an additional 2,000 bicycle parking spaces in the subterranean car parking garage.[70]

Apple Park Visitor Center

Apple Park Visitor Center is a two-story 20,135 sqft structure with four main areas: an Apple Store[72] featuring Apple-branded merchandise (T-shirts, hats, tote bags, postcards) not sold at regular Apple stores,[73] a 2386 sqft café, an exhibition space which currently showcases a 3D model of Apple Park with augmented reality, and a roof terrace overlooking the campus. It opened to the public on November 17, 2017.[74][75] The estimated cost of the center is $80 million.[76] The property at 10600 North Tantau Avenue (northeast corner of Tantau and Pruneridge avenues) is across the road from the campus proper and abuts a Santa Clara residential neighborhood.[77] The underground parking garage, with close to 700 spaces, has an estimated cost of $26 million.

Apple Park Developer Center

Apple Park Developer Center is a two-story structure across the street from the Apple Park Visitor Center at 10500 North Tantau Avenue (southeast corner of Tantau and Pruneridge avenues). Construction began in May 2021. Apple Park Developer Center was inaugurated on June 6, 2022, during WWDC.[78]

Grounds

Landscaping

80% of the campus consists of green space.[79] The spacious courtyard in the middle of the primary building was planted with apricot, olive, and apple orchards, as well as a herb garden near the cafe. Other plants selected for the campus landscape are drought tolerant. Recycled water is used to water the campus.

In 2011, Apple hired an arborist, Dave Muffly, to cultivate California's natural environment around Apple Park.[80] Apple's headhunters tracked down Muffly in 2010 after Jobs recognized the quality of the oak trees near the Stanford Dish and asked staff to find the arborist who was caring for them.[80]

There are 9,000 trees on the Apple Park campus, of 309 varieties of indigenous species.[2][14] The planted trees are Oak savanna, Oak wood, and fruit trees including apple, apricot, plum, cherry, and persimmon. An additional 15 acre are used for a native California grassland.[81] Among the apple varieties represented are Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, and Pink Lady, but the McIntosh is notably absent, due to its incompatibility with the area's climate.[80]

After he began work in earnest, Muffly realized that fewer than a hundred of the 4,000 existing trees were usable.[80] This meant he had to procure from scratch almost all of the 9,000 planned trees.[80] His team went so far as to search abandoned Christmas tree farms, and Apple bought one at Yermo in the Mojave Desert.[80]

Public artworks

Sculptural installations such as "Mirage" by the Scottish artist Katie Paterson (with the architects Zeller & Moye)[82][83] and a mirrored obelisk by the designer Sabine Marcelis[84][85] can be seen on the grounds of Apple Park.[86] The architecture of the main building itself has also been described as a work of art.[87]

Historic barn

The land that Apple purchased for the campus came with an old barn that was built in 1916 by John Leonard using redwood planks. Leonard married into the Glendenning Family, who immigrated to the United States from Scotland and settled in the area in the 1850s. After Apple purchased the property, there were discussions between Apple, the Cupertino Historical Society, and the city of Cupertino as to the fate of the barn. The city's interest in the barn stemmed from its 2004 declaration as a historical site.[88]

Apple agreed to keep the barn on the property and is using it to "store maintenance tools and other landscaping materials". The barn was disassembled during the campus construction and then reassembled in a different location from where it was originally located.[89][90]

Inner courtyard

The inner courtyard is 30 acre, and lush with fruit trees alongside an artificial pond and a café. In the center, there is a rectangular field with several arches that resemble a rainbow when seen from a distance.

Apple Park

History

Location

Design and construction

Construction

Facilities

Cafés

Auditorium

Wellness center

Research and development facility

Observatory

Transportation

Bus

Parking

Bus

Parking

Cycling

Apple Park Visitor Center

Apple Park Developer Center

Grounds

Landscaping

Public artworks

Historic barn

Inner courtyard

Reception

External links

References

Costs

Energy source

Cycling