CUPERTINO | Apple Corporate Headquarters

[vandelay]

Steve Jobs Pitches Cupertino on Stunning New Apple Campus

Cupertino City Council Presentation by Steve Jobs

Late last year it was revealed that Apple purchased a 98-acre campus from Hewlett Packard, just up I-280 in Cupertino. Last night, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in trademark black turtleneck and jeans, explained Apple's plans for the space to the Cupertino City Council. Here's what the new 4-story building holding 12,000 employees will look like when it's completed in 2015:

Apple's plan will increase the site's office space from 2.6 million square feet to 3.1 million square feet, but the company will significantly improve the grounds around the offices, too, Jobs said.

The current HP campus features 20 percent landscaping. "It's pretty bad," admitted Jobs. The redesigned campus, however, will feature 80 percent landscaping, with twice the amount of indigenous trees. Most of the parking space will be relocated underground, Jobs also noted.

(huffingtonpost)

"It's a little like a spaceship landed. It's got this gorgeous courtyard in the middle... It's a circle. It's curved all the way around. If you build things, this is not the cheapest way to build something. There is not a straight piece of glass in this building. It's all curved. We've used our experience making retail buildings all over the world now, and we know how to make the biggest pieces of glass in the world for architectural use. And, we want to make the glass specifically for this building here. We can make it curve all the way around the building..."

The green highlighted area in the lower left is the current location of the Apple campus. The area in the upper right is the future campus:


Although Jobs did not disclose the architect of the plan, in December of 2010 it was announced that Foster + Partners were hired to create a plan for a new Apple campus.

[ardecila]

The architect is obviously Foster. Who else would do something like this?

[Onn]

This is like the Pentagon 2. The Pentagon is the largest building in the world and can hold 23,000 people, this can do 12,000. That just puts this monstrosity into prospective. I like concept, I'm not sure I would have picked Foster though. There's too much of Foster in the world already. He's almost as bad as Calatrava and his brigdes.

[STR]

Originally Posted by Onn

This is like the Pentagon 2. The Pentagon is the largest building in the world and can hold 23,000 people, this can do 12,000. That just puts this monstrosity into prospective. I like concept, I'm not sure I would have picked Foster though. There's too much of Foster in the world already. He's almost as bad as Calatrava and his brigdes.

Pentagon is the largest Office Building, at ~6 million usable square feet. Sears Tower is the largest privately owned office building, at 4.5Msqft. This one is ~3.1Msqft, which would land somewhere around 15th largest office building in America. Comparable to the new Towers 1 & 2 at the World Trade Center site.

[denizen467]

^ Yep, many hangars, airport terminals, and malls have much more floor area than the biggest office buildings.

[The Grand Architect]

Originally Posted by STR

Pentagon is the largest Office Building, at ~6 million usable square feet. Sears Tower is the largest privately owned office building, at 4.5Msqft. This one is ~3.1Msqft, which would land somewhere around 15th largest office building in America. Comparable to the new Towers 1 & 2 at the World Trade Center site.

With this amount of office space, it's bound to be in the record books. I bet once this thing is completed, it would set an example for future architectural styles. No doubt.

[giantSwan]

I suppose I'll wait for more details...

but this looks like a dated 90s style corporate campus...gross...i thought apple was suppose to be forward thinking...this doesn't look like a place i would want to work at...

in contrast, google purchased a building in manhattan and is making moves to urbanize it's googleplex...

[The Grand Architect]

Originally Posted by giantSwan

I suppose I'll wait for more details...

but this looks like a dated 90s style corporate campus...gross...i thought apple was suppose to be forward thinking...this doesn't look like a place i would want to work at...

in contrast, google purchased a building in manhattan and is making moves to urbanize it's googleplex...

How is this a 90's style?? This building is the first of it's kind to have that shape. It's unique, and I like how the implemented the "glass box" skyscraper concept to a low-rise building.

BTW, do you think they made the building a circular shape to represent an "apple" or fruit? I read in the article that the new spot for the campus contains "orchards." Which got me thinking: Orchard and Apple Inc. Orchard and Apple. Something's fishy. Coincidence?? I think not....

OR, they could have made it like this:


Photo taken from user kalsta from macrumors.com

[Onn]

Originally Posted by STR

Pentagon is the largest Office Building, at ~6 million usable square feet. Sears Tower is the largest privately owned office building, at 4.5Msqft. This one is ~3.1Msqft, which would land somewhere around 15th largest office building in America. Comparable to the new Towers 1 & 2 at the World Trade Center site.

That's kind of implied, I would think...building of its kind. It is the largest office BUILDING in the world.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

i like,i like.

[Troubadour]

If nothing else, they're turning an entire block into greenery. That's something.

[ocman]

needlessly sprawling.

[JSsocal]

There is something to be said about the working environment and creativity, and this is at least replacing a traditional office park with something that is at least creative and beautiful. There aren't going to be high rises in Cupertino any time soon, and Apple doesn't want to relocate to somewhere urban for the sake of being somewhere urban, they have a long history in Cupertino. For some reason I keep thinking about Frank Lloyd Wright's Marin county building, something architecturally significant outside the region's center. This might be similar to that.

[denizen467]

^

I don't find this very creative or creativity-inspiring. On the interior, the view from every single fucking window will be the same (other than the foliage). How horribly monotonous. From the exterior, pretty much the same story. Creative types need variety, nooks, crannies, different environments for different moods, etc.; those things foster innovation.

On the functionality front, I don't know why offices (opposite one another) must needlessly be separated so far apart by a courtyard. An energy-efficient design would not needlessly add massive distance between co-workers.

On the image front, I think there will inevitably be detractors one day calling it a death star or something, especially, say, when Apple mis-steps or, say, gets too powerful in the music industry, etc.

So this strikes me as one of the stupidest designs ever for an office building. Do we know that this massing was the idea of Apple/Jobs and not Foster/the architect?

There are plenty of "insanely great" architects and designs out there that they could have chosen. Just one random example of interesting massing/layout just waiting to be built in California is www.big.dk/projects/ski (the main building, not the little ones), adapted in some way for office use.

[JSsocal]

^This layout works just fine for the pentagon.

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by JSsocal

^This layout works just fine for the pentagon.

I assume you're just being sarcastic, because neither can you say the Pentagon "works fine", nor is the Apple plan even sufficiently similar to the Pentagon.

It should be a clue that a design created 70 years ago (the Pentagon was designed before the US entered WWII) might not work any more ... or that a building type designed for rigid hierarchy, staid behavior, and a somber mission, would be appropriate for a creative & research & trend-setting organization. This is driven home by the fact that it would be hard to point to any office building that has ever replicated the Pentagon idea, despite the massive 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s boom of constructing sprawling corporate campuses in cornfields around the entire country. Yesterday's US News and World Report article also isn't impressed:

If the building does get built and completed by 2015, as Jobs hopes, the people who work there might be disappointed to discover that form trumps function. For its novelty, the Apple design is conceptually similar to another famous building that turned out to be a lot less practical than its planners hoped: the Pentagon.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20110...romthepentagon

And even some of the key redeeming aspects of the Pentagon fail to be adopted by Apple's plan: The courtyard in the Pentagon eats up only like 1/3 of the overall diameter, while Apple's plan is more like just the rind of a circle, putting huge distances between many offices. Also, Apple uses a monotonous circle, while a 5-sided building gives an opportunity for variations in views depending on where you are - not to mention all the nooks and crannies of the light courts in between the rings. If Apple had something like concentric rings and connecting passageways, then it would at least be in the Pentagon's league.

The apple logo shape someone suggested - or if they absolutely love simple shapes, how about a full sphere - would be better than this. The only real reason I could see for this shape would be to build a particle accelerator underneath it ... which is somewhat unlikely for various reasons. Also, where are the wind turbines, Steve?

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by denizen467

I don't find this very creative or creativity-inspiring. On the interior, the view from every single fucking window will be the same (other than the foliage). How horribly monotonous. From the exterior, pretty much the same story. Creative types need variety, nooks, crannies, different environments for different moods, etc.; those things foster innovation.

But the foliage is precisely what will make every view unique as long as the landscaping is done well. Moreover, a building's plans and sections tell you about what kind of nooks, crannies and other interior spaces it houses. We have neither-- just some blurry renderings of the building-as-object and its footprint-- so it's a tad premature to claim that no such spaces will be provided.

Based on what we do know, it's clear that this building isn't urban, but it certainly doesn't embrace the suburbs (even though it's fundamentally suburban). It appears to be a giant cloister-- essentially inward looking-- surrounded by an artificial forest meant to give the illusion of nature/seclusion. Which is weird. Like some attempt to combine Walden Pond and corporate insularity.

[Aleks]

i too have questions about the efficiency of the campus, but i will say that i completely disagree with that many of you are saying.

saying that creative people need 'nooks and crannies' is not true at all. just look at japan, there are tons and tons of award winning, simplistic, white-walled buildings which inspire thousands of people who work and live around. churches, college buildings, etc... inspiration varies with individuals, not everyone needs a cozy corner to sit and ponder. and hell, apple did an amazing job imo with the courtyard idea, it gives dozens and dozens of 'nooks and crannies' for people to get inspired, and draw inspiration from nature.

the simplistic design is perfect for apple, a company which (if you haven't noticed) whips out simple designs. the pentagon comparison is only valid because it's a large, circular building. other than that they have nothing in common. apple will hire the best interior designers, space planners, and obviously draw feedback from employees. i still want to know about efficiency, but to me it seems like it won't be much of a problem. there's underground parking so there's bound to be an underground connection system, i wouldn't be surprised if they had shuttles either.

another thing, a pentagon has 5 sides, that means you can only get either 5 180 degree views, or 5 252 degree ones. and the only way you'll be able to get those 250 degree views is if you stand in a corner, one of the only 5 corners. other than that you're stuck with the same view all along one of the sides.

one last thing, apple isn't google either, they don't need or want swings and hammocks everywhere. google is reaching out to creative folks, apple wants people to come to them. i'll also disagree with your trend-setting/lifestyle comments. there are die hard apple fans, just the same way there are die hard microsoft one's. most (including me) just don't care. apple has whipped out some amazing products, and (even though i know nothing about computers) i doubt any company out there is close to matching it's software/products. the only real competitor for apple is google.

[wong21fr]

Let's cut the crap, this new Apple HQ is obviously intended to hold Steve Jobs in his Golden Throne so that death will not deprive Apple of the messiah and his benevolent rule may continue through the ages.

This structure is part of the system to keep Jobs alive, likely by hooking up will Apple zealots directly to the building to provide Job with the vital nutrients and lifeforce he will need.

[OneMetropolis]

This design is honestly underwhelming. I was expecting way more, being that it is apple. Anyway the design is way too boring, like really a giant circular over sized doughnut...? That's all the supposedly most innovating company in the world could come up with...? Lame right?