Last February 22nd, Apple has officially announced that the opening date of Apple park- their new 5 billion dollar, 175-acre campus – would be on April of 2017, ready to accommodate over 12,000 employees over the span of 6 months. In the meantime, the campus is still undergoing its final stages of construction.
What does a 5 billion dollar building for Apple look like, you ask? Well, see for yourself.
Source: Telegraph Co UK
Source: Design Boom
Right off the bat, you immediately notice the cylindrical shape of the main building, over 2.8 million square feet, clad almost entirely by curved glass. The entire campus is also surrounded by rich and beautiful greenery, covered by the warm sun, breathing life into a company mostly known for innovations in the field of technology.
That’s not all, further into the huge campus grounds lies the Apple Park’s theater, named the Steve Jobs theater, in honor of the former CEO who would’ve turned 62 this year. The auditorium houses over 1 thousand seats, and like the main building, is a glass cylinder around 20 feet tall, 165 feet in diameter, with a roof made from metallic carbon-fiber. The Theater is on top of the hill, overlooking the meadows and the main building.
Source: The Verge
The park also includes a visitor’s center that will be open to the public, and it contains an Apple Store, a cafe, a 100,000 square foot fitness center for its employees, secure research and development facilities, as well as the Steve Jobs Theater itself. The entirety of the park offers 2 miles of walking and running paths for employees, an orchard, a meadow, and a pond.
The campus was made in collaboration with Foster + Partners, and what’s more is that it runs on 100% renewable energy. It uses 17 megawatts of solar on its rooftops, making it one of the largest on-site solar energy installation. It would also be one of the biggest naturally ventilated buildings, not needing air conditioners or heaters for around 9 months of the year.
Source: World Build 365
“Steve’s vision for Apple stretched far beyond his time with us. He intended Apple Park to be the home of innovation for generations to come” explains Tim Cook, Apple’s current CEO. “The workspaces and parklands are designed to inspire our team as well as benefit the environment. We’ve achieved one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world and the campus will run entirely on renewable energy.”
It’s hard to imagine that this entire building initially started out as just miles and miles of asphalt and concrete, and what puts them apart from others is that they’re actually taking a huge step in using renewable energy. Hopefully, other big corporations will follow its footsteps, and work together to help protect the environment.
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