Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,293
30,377



The Planning Commission of Apple's hometown of Cupertino, California approved Apple's plans for the company's new "Spaceship" campus Wednesday night, a day after the company made a presentation to the community at a public discussion, reports CNET. The next steps in the process will be a vote by the Cupertino city council on October 15 along with a final vote on November 19, and the company remains on track for a 2016 opening of the new campus.

apple_campus_2_rendering.jpg
Just like any other Apple presentation, this one came with a slickly-produced video. Dan Whisenhunt, the company's director of real estate and facilities, introduced a video featuring lead architect Norman Foster and others in charge of the site's development. One gem from the film is that the site's now infamous O-shaped structure was not the original vision. "It really grew into that born out of an intensive process," said Foster in the video. The plans were also inspired by Stanford's campus.
Steve Jobs originally pitched the idea of a new Apple campus to the city of Cupertino in June 2011, his final public appearance four months before his death. The company submitted revised plans campus in December 2011, but by April of this year was said to be one year behind schedule on construction and roughly $2 billion over budget. Among the unique details contributing to the project costs were characteristics such as 6 square kilometers of curved glass, strict requirements on gaps between surfaces, and polished concrete ceilings cast in molds as opposed to being cast in place.

Apple again submitted revised plans for the campus with a new phased construction plan in late April 2013, and released an economic impact report on the future campus this past June detailing both main construction phases, which included guidelines for employees capacity, estimates of tax revenue for the city, and public improvements.

Article Link: Apple's 'Spaceship' Campus Approved by Cupertino Planning Commission, Headed to City Council for Final Vote
 

musika

macrumors 65816
Sep 2, 2010
1,285
459
New York
They should make the metal of the building in the "Space Gray" color. Then it would be really spacey. :cool:
 

sransari

macrumors 6502
Feb 11, 2005
363
130
looks amazing! but wouldn't it be kind of a pain to walk half the circumference to get to the exact other side? I guess you could walk outside and cut across since the weather is always perfect.
 

sharpycl

macrumors 6502
May 25, 2009
289
1
Gaithersburg, MD
They should shape the building like a giant apple. Something you can recognize from space. Apple has the funds. They could so pull that off ;)
 

lars666

macrumors 65816
Jul 13, 2008
1,190
1,281
looks amazing! but wouldn't it be kind of a pain to walk half the circumference to get to the exact other side? I guess you could walk outside and cut across since the weather is always perfect.

They probably have a "Futurama"-like tube in there which brings you to the other side in fractions of a second ... :)
 

XboxMySocks

macrumors 68020
Oct 25, 2009
2,230
198
Does anyone want to explain what this campus is for? An Apple University?! I'm genuinely confused and yes, I have looked into it and done research.
 

gadgetguy03

macrumors regular
Nov 1, 2012
223
143
looks amazing! but wouldn't it be kind of a pain to walk half the circumference to get to the exact other side? I guess you could walk outside and cut across since the weather is always perfect.

I wonder if the company would have segways available to get to meetings.
 

lolkthxbai

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2011
1,426
489
looks amazing! but wouldn't it be kind of a pain to walk half the circumference to get to the exact other side? I guess you could walk outside and cut across since the weather is always perfect.

Having a circle shaped building is much more efficient than having a typical box shaped one. Like you said, you could just cut across.

Imagine your in a square shaped building and the halls all run on each side. If you want to get to the other side of the building, you'd have to walk up/down or left/right to the nearest corner, make your way across and then back down/up or right/left. Being that the campus is shaped as a circle, the farthest distance you could ever walk to get to another room is equal to the diameter of the circle.
 

devsfan1830

macrumors regular
Aug 26, 2011
153
105
VA
Does anyone want to explain what this campus is for? An Apple University?! I'm genuinely confused and yes, I have looked into it and done research.

This is for them, to replace their current buildings and consolidate overflow employees that are working in leased satellite offices because their main campus is too small at this point. "Campus" doesn't just refer to schools these days. Its being used more and more to refer to large company building complexes.
 

Mr Fusion

macrumors 6502a
May 7, 2007
841
1,061
It's a nice building, but I have a hard time being excited about something I'll never be allowed to set foot in. :(
 

spb3

macrumors regular
Mar 30, 2012
134
0
They should plant apple trees in the middle. And let people sit under them.
You know, for good ideas.
 
Last edited:

iGrip

macrumors 68000
Jul 1, 2010
1,626
0
looks amazing! but wouldn't it be kind of a pain to walk half the circumference to get to the exact other side? I guess you could walk outside and cut across since the weather is always perfect.


A toroid is an expensive and inefficient way to enclose space. I wonder if Icahn has an opinion on this expense?
 

ValSalva

macrumors 68040
Jun 26, 2009
3,783
259
Burpelson AFB
looks amazing! but wouldn't it be kind of a pain to walk half the circumference to get to the exact other side? I guess you could walk outside and cut across since the weather is always perfect.

You must be forgetting about the Star Trek style transporters they are installing :D
 

Nahaz

macrumors 6502
Jun 2, 2010
311
35
Australia
With it's unique design, I wonder if it will become a tourist attraction as well?

Almost looks like the landing platform for a Flying Saucer :)
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.