Steve Jobs Theater Includes Custom-Made Rotating Elevators and Retractable Wall Hiding Demo Area

[MacRumors]

We're six days away from Apple's iPhone 8 reveal event, set to be the first major product unveiling taking place at Apple Park, in the new Steve Jobs Theater auditorium. To get fans ready, Bloomberg today posted a detailed look into the internals of the Steve Jobs Theater, highlighting a few well-known facts while also sharing new tidbits of information about the building that's dedicated in memory of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

The theater is built on a piece of high ground, allowing its occupants to catch a wide view of Apple Park from inside its glass walls, as well as hiding the building's four underground stories. The media will enter through the glass-encased lobby, and will be able to descend down two curved staircases into the main auditorium. However, two custom-made rotating elevators will also shuttle occupants into the lower sections and back up again after the event.

It also boasts two custom-made rotating elevators, which turn as they ascend and descend so that passengers enter and exit by the same door even as they go in and out from different directions. So far, so Apple--the more elegant single door, with its complex engineering, preferred to the more obvious double-door solution.

Down in the auditorium, the 1,000-occupant capacity theater holds as many leather seats, and earlier reports estimated each to cost around $14,000. In these seats, onlookers will get to watch the unveiling of the iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus, Apple Watch Series 3, and more next Tuesday, September 12, and afterwards more architectural "surprises" will be presented to Steve Jobs Theater attendees as they leave the auditorium.

Steve Jobs Theater floor plan via the City of Cupertino​

One section of the theater's wall space near the entranceway of the building is said to "obscure a hollow space below the floating saucer." This way, upon entry attendees won't see what's behind the wall, but as the event ends and they walk back towards the surface, a product demonstration room will be revealed with all of the just-announced devices available for the first hands-on coverage.

Once CEO Tim Cook and his cohorts finish showing off the new iPhones, Apple Watch and TV onstage, a surprise will await the departing attendees. An inside wall, which obscures a hollow space below the floating saucer, will retract to reveal the product demonstration room, according to someone with knowledge of the design. For fellow Brits: think the Thunderbird 3 launchpad underneath Tracy Island's circular pool house.

Last night the latest Apple Park drone video was shared by Duncan Sinfield, providing a clear glimpse into the Steve Jobs Theater as people moved around inside the building and sat nearby on benches outside of the lobby. The lobby itself is a 20-foot tall glass cylinder that overlooks the main campus building and is surrounded by landscaping, also boasting the world's largest freestanding carbon fiber roof.

Article Link: Steve Jobs Theater Includes Custom-Made Rotating Elevators and Retractable Wall Hiding Demo Area

 

[Sunny1990]

Here are some leaked inside pictures of Steve Jobs theater. Work is under progress. It is small compared to civic center which has 7000 seating capacity. Steve Jobs theater has only 1000 seating capacity.

 

[kevinbeared]

Sometimes i feel that leaks are ruining all the fun to discover something... wait why do i care i can't assist the event lol

 

[Mac 128]

I'm not really seeing where the elevators are in these pictures ...

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

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Here are some leaked inside pictures of Steve Jobs theater. Work is under progress. It is small compared to civic center which has 7000 seating capacity. Steve Jobs theater has only 1000 seating capacity.

Thanks for sharing these!

 

[jayducharme]

Fascinating pics. That stage is huge! This article answered a lot of questions I had about access and arrangement. I'm surprised that there's so much wood structure in the theater; I expected more glass and aluminum.

 

[rGiskard]

And when's the last time Apple updated the iPad mini? It's display looks archaic next to the latest iPads. Come on Apple, stop with the day late dollar short act!

 

[Mjmar]

So they spent 14 million on just the seats?

 

[xalea]

But does it have dancing water fountains? Well does it???

 

[Compote]

Is there a reason why it's basically an underground bunker ?

 

[Eorlas]

If it only has 1000 seats I'm guessing Apple is only going to host announcement events there when they want to invite specific people?

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Retractible wall hiding demo area... but really it's a retractible wall hiding dungeon area for members of the press that don't give good reviews. Mwhahahah! (in Ive's British accent). Tim and Ive's put on long twirly 'staches before the torture starts. And ya'll that that Apple's special gym was really to gain new technology to health algorithms for Apple Watches. Imagine the look in a Verge reporter's eyes when he is scooped up by the wall and faces... a treadmill going at 6mph. Noooooooo, not the treadmill.
[doublepost=1504707336][/doublepost]

If it only has 1000 seats I'm guessing Apple is only going to host announcement events there when they want to invite specific people?

You mean like it has always done? 1000 is not small for press events. SJT will be the only site Apple hosts special events going forward with exception to the WWDC Keynote.

 

[morcutt11]

$14,000 seats? Really? I'd ask if that is really necessary for the limited use that they will see, but then again rotating elevators in place of double-door elevators isn't really necessary either.

 

[Boatboy24]

What about the underground tunnels from the UFO to the theater?

 

[Madmic23]

Is there a reason why it's basically an underground bunker ?

Because every evil genius has to have a secret underground lair.

 

[HoosBruce]

Place seems so cool. I would love to somehow get inside someday haha

 

[Crzyrio]

Fascinating pics. That stage is huge! This article answered a lot of questions I had about access and arrangement. I'm surprised that there's so much wood structure in the theater; I expected more glass and aluminum.

Wood was Lille chosen due to acoustics

 

[_Refurbished_]

$14,000 seats? Really? I'd ask if that is really necessary for the limited use that they will see, but then again rotating elevators in place of double-door elevators isn't really necessary either.

They opted out of the $15,000 seats that included cupholders. Cheap bastards.

 

[djcerla]

And that's how Tim will show up:

 

[Rojaaemon]

I can't believe they planned to put that white tree there next to that gray one.

 

[2010mini]

Wonder why only 1000 seating?

 

[iamgalt]

Is there a reason why it's basically an underground bunker ?

Heating and cooling is much cheaper when it's underground. Better for keeping out unwanted sounds from nearby roads (even though all the trees would stop most of the noise). And it's much more apples style to just have a minimal entry lobby visible to the outside rather than a huge theater. Those are my guesses.

 

[tod1212]

So they spent 14 million on just the seats?

No. They did not.
The MacRumors article is misleading.
The bloomberg article got it right (if you read carefully):
"Given the theater's 1,000-person capacity, one engineer said back in March that the building's budget meant each leather seat had cost Apple the equivalent of $14,000 apiece."

This means that the whole building had a budget of 14 Mio. $.
If you break that budget down as per seat, then you get the § 14,000. (14,000 x 1000 = 14 Mio.)

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Wonder why only 1000 seating?

Because it's all they probably needed and also to maintain the ambiance of a small theater.

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

"In these [ridiculously-expensive] seats, onlookers will get to watch the unveiling of the iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus..."

Yesterday's news from 9to5mac site RE: naming of the new iPhones (backed by solid evidence):
1. iPhone Edition, not iPhone 8
2. iPhone 8, not iPhone 7S
3. iPhone 8 Plus, not iPhone 7S Plus