Steve Jobs Pitches Cupertino on Stunning New Apple Campus

[Xtremehkr]

That was a disappointing performance by the Cupertino city council, who seem to be made of up a number of people who don't know what's going on.

The former HP employee was the only person with something half intelligent to say about the matter.

It's rare that a company like Apple will actually stay in a small city like that, I imagine it would have been a lot more professional had it been NYC or San Francisco.

 

[revelated]

Looks fine - as long as they don't bury Jobs in the dead center.

 

[toddybody]

Anyhoo...looks like a gorgeous building. Reminds me of the old Lockheed Martin building off 270 (for those in the Washington D.C area).

What I like most is the inclusion of natural landscaping and scads of trees. Well done

 

[Frobozz]

The WTF was the petty politician looking the gift horse in the mouth.
Considering the massive tax revenues the city gets from Apple for being there, the council should be grateful - not asking for paltry driblets of more such as "free WiFi". If someone writes you a check for a million dollars, you asking for the pen as a condition of acceptance is bad form.

If Cupertino wants "free WiFi", Apple is paying more than enough in taxes to cover the city implementing that itself.

Remember, this is a company which doesn't even give its shareholders dividends. Attempting to negotiate paltry luxurious non-sequiturs is a fast way to tick off Steve Jobs. His retort to wit "we'd be happy to provide free WiFi if you'll not demand huge tax payments" is a very polite & humorous way to say "WTF?".

meow.

Kidding aside, you're right. I don't understand reducing tax revenue to get what amounts to trinkets. Make them pay. Do we honestly think Apple would just up and leave Cupertino over a tax break? Other companies, I would say "yes." Apple? No way. It'd have to be some massive financial kick in the balls to force them out of Cupertino.

 

[jmcrutch]

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The spaceship it looks like was first manufactured for The Trade Federation.

I love it.

 

[tbrinkma]

I'm no architect, and it is beautiful, but it looks like it wastes a lot of space? Don't the curves cut down on usable space? (I've only read the first and last page of this thread, so if any of this has been covered, just ignore it).

Not really. On a smaller scale, circular buildings are a pain, but if you go large enough, they it can be partitioned up into areas that are very nearly rectangular.

 

[phillipduran]

Does it fly?

 

[Brad L]

It looks awesome! However, why should Apple expect not to pay taxes? Seriously.

"If we can get out of paying taxes, we would be glad to provide free Wi-Fi."

 

[ppdix]

The Lord of the Ring!

 

[Thunderhawks]

If I remember correctly, I read somewhere that they're even building an underground, high-speed subway to connect the two campuses together.

Incredible.

EDIT: Found the source (Cult of Mac).

No underground.

By the time this is ready Apple will have launched two new devices:

iScooter an air cushion type scooter

iBrundlefly for instant meetings transporting the bodies to the conference room.

All this will be happening at the:

iRingaDing

 

[JabbaII]

Its going to be a pain to get from say an office at 12 o'clock to say 6 o'clock.

May be they will have electric golf carts or bicycles or segways.

 

[phillipduran]

It looks awesome! However, why should Apple expect not to pay taxes? Seriously.

The point he was making was, don't ask me to do anything else for you, you already take a freaking crapload of money from the company in taxes. They are the number one contributor to Cupertino tax revenue.

So you want free WiFi? Sure, drop the taxes and I'll give you free WiFi. It's a tactful way to say **** to the council person.

 

[Hattig]

This looks amazing. I really like the goals. it's Apple's design aesthetic applied to a building:

• Get the parking lot out of sight and put it underground. Added bonus is that cars don't bake in the sun all day.

There is a multi-storey car-park along the southern edge of the plot, you can see it in the concept image in the background. It is mentioned on the AI article.

 

[ILikeTurtles]

OMFG! That woman was a complete idiot! It's really shameful that these city councils allow someone with such a low intellect to sit on their boards. How embarrassing for their city. Apple pays Cupertino a mountain-load of cash in taxes, and this bit*c has the nerve to try to fleece free wifi from them. Incredible.

 

[ppdix]

Apple put Cupertino on the map

Who in the world would even know Cupertino existed if it wasn't for Apple?

The city owes them...

 

[SeattleMoose]

Very Impressive!!!

and...with apricot orchards!!

 

[nylonsteel]

I'm all for the new building
Sounds good Mr. Jobs
Especially your comment of the taxes
My first thought looking at the building pic was - Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind

 

[spillproof]

Field Trip!

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

love the design

what companies worry about detailed stuff like this? their design is amazing

 

[riverfreak]

The building looks both opulent and wasteful. It looks like Dunkin' Do-nuts headquarters.
Natural gas is not a renewable resource, and while it burns cleaner than some other alternatives, it still creates emissions. I'm afraid Mr. Jobs has reached that dangerous point in his life where he has begun to believe he is infallible, and that every decision he makes, since he made it, is absolutely correct. The power grid as a back-up??
Wind power, solar power, or geo-thermal would be a much cleaner and impressive solution. I guess Mr. Jobs isn't all that up-to-date after all.

Short-sighted and snide which unfortunately clouds your otherwise worthy comment.

You aren't going to generate much wind energy in Cupertino. Geothermal exchange could make great sense especially given the excavation for underground parking.

 

[roocka]

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It TRULY is a walled garden. Perfect description.

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

The Q&A makes me cringe. Steve is like "am i really talking to these people?"

 

[colmaclean]

Its going to be a pain to get from say an office at 12 o'clock to say 6 o'clock.

May be they will have electric golf carts or bicycles or segways.

One word - MONORAIL!

 

[Mak47]

That building is awesome.

And am I the only one who is tired of all the cities and their constant "what's in it for us" whining?

You get a crapton of tax revenue and local jobs.

Agreed. What a bunch of useless, self serving bureaucrats. If Apple left Cupertino it would literally kill the city. They mentioned their great schools etc, well, it takes a tax base to have great schools. Apple pays for that.

Jobs also said they're building an auditorium so they don't have to rent the Moscone Center anymore. That's going to bring tons of business to Cupertino every time they have an event.

If this is how government bureaucrats treat the CEO of the most valuable company in the world, I can only imagine what less powerful companies have to deal with. No wonder they're all leaving.

 

[Robertus]

Why use a low-res graphic depiction of the new building? How about linking it to a high-res image for better view?