Within Apple's $5 billion headquarters

 

APPLE'S PARK

what looks like a giant spaceship parked

in the lush flats of cupertino

california

is actually tech giant apple's new hq

fittingly named the apple park

this stunning architecture sprawls

across acres of land

and might just be one of the most

stunning campuses in the world

despite its incredibly futuristic looks

the apple park has been a long time in

the making with steve jobs first

announcing the project way back in 2006.

it took eight long years of planning

proposals and permit applications but by

2014

construction was well underway and by

2017

the vast apple workforce was already

starting to move in

the massive ring-shaped building is now

an iconic symbol of the apple brand

and is a fantastic testament to the

company's dedication to effortless

design sustainability and the future of

technology

it was originally estimated that the

campus would cost just half a billion

dollars to put together

however the land alone cost 160 million

dollars and the cost quickly started to

overrun

by 2011 the budget in place had

multiplied to a little under 3 billion

and when it was all said and done apple

were looking at a bill closer to 5.

a 5 billion build is a big sum of money

for any company to justify

any company except apple that is who's

currently worth

two trillion dollars and is estimated to

profit around 60 billion dollars by the

end of this year alone

so where was all that money spent and

what makes the apple park so incredible

for starters the campus is made up of

multiple buildings however 80 percent of

the land is still considered to be green

space

apple and the designers put a lot of

effort into making the park fit

seamlessly into nature

planting over 9 000 drought resistant

trees throughout the grounds

including cherry apricot olive and of

course a few varieties of apple

to encourage workers to maintain a

healthy lifestyle the grounds feature

3.2 kilometers worth of various walking

and running trails as well as 1 000

bikes that can be used to commute

between the buildings

other lifestyle facilities include a gym

wellness center and a couple of

basketball courts

there's also a huge two-story yoga

studio where the desk jockeys can wind

down and

ease out their back pain the campus

really does look after

its staff and the environment too all of

the buildings are incredibly

eco-friendly with the main ring

construction being home to one of the

world's largest rooftop solar farms

the solar covered roof generates up to

17 megawatts of power which is enough to

meet 75 percent of the campuses energy

demand during peak times

the rest of the campus's needs are met

by on-site fuel cells powered by biofuel

or natural gas

the main building also utilizes a

natural ventilation system

meaning that it doesn't use traditional

heating and cooling methods for nine

months of the year

furthering the space's green credentials

nicknamed the spaceship or the ring

the central circular building is quite a

sight to behold

sitting four stories high it has over

1.2 million square feet of office space

and enough room to accommodate up to 12

000 members of staff

to bring the outside world in the design

has incorporated a lot of glass into the

build and the construction even features

the largest

curved glass panes in the world there

are 800 of the 45 foot tall

curved glass panels around the

building's exterior and around 3 000

smaller panels to be found within

the low energy leds natural sunlight and

sheer amount of see-through material

make the spaceship a stunningly bright

place to be

which i'm sure is great at keeping the

some 12 000 staff members

feeling energized throughout their long

working days despite being hidden from

sight

one of the most amazing spaceship

features happens to be found

deep underground the main ring is one of

the few buildings in the u.s and the

world to make use of base

isolation which protects the ring from

even the worst of californian

earthquakes

the isolation system is made up of 692

huge stainless steel plates which allow

the building to shift up to four feet in

any given direction

without causing any structural damage

also to be found underground is an

expansive parking area and road network

that's completely hidden from site

putting these amenities underground was

an absolute necessity in order to

maximize the green space

in and around the apple park other

features to be found around the campus

include seven cafes with the largest

being sprawled across three levels with

enough seating for three thousand people

the huge catering team says it has

enough capacity to feed around fifteen

thousand people

every lunchtime so there's definitely

some growing room if apple decides to

expand its already huge workforce

also within the parks grounds is the

inspiring apple auditorium

formerly known as the steve jobs theatre

the spectacular circular glass building

mirrors the spaceship in its form

and is topped with the world's largest

carbon fiber roof the theater includes a

42 foot high glass elevator that takes

guests underground to the 1000 seat

auditorium

made from chemically tempered glass the

elevator is also considered to be the

tallest freestanding glass elevator in

the world

other buildings dotted around the park

include a one hundred thousand square

foot fitness center

two three hundred thousand square foot

research and development facilities

a care clinic and the visitors center

which happens to be the only building in

the entire park that guests can visit

without a pass

the apple park visitor center is all

under one roof but is divided into four

very special sections

a ten thousand square foot apple store

filled with the latest apple products

a two thousand square foot cafe an

observation deck where you can look over

the campus and a designated

ar experience area the ar area includes

a scale model of the entire apple park

offering visitors an employer's look at

life on campus

the apple park is so full of amazing

features and amenities

more so than almost any other work

environment in the world

apple has thought of everything from

their environmental footprint to keeping

their workforce full up with food

leisure and creativity there have been a

few complaints about the open plan

office spaces with some workers saying

that they are distracting

counterproductive and removes

opportunity for privacy but still

the futuristic facility has been

incredibly well received and has set a

new world standard in how amazing a work

environment can truly be

you

English (auto-generated)

AllSteve JobsAppleRelatedFrom Tech VisionWatched