Apple’s ‘spaceship’ campus detailed in new model

Apple’s ‘spaceship’ campus detailed in new model

The Cupertino City Council will vote for project approval on Tuesday.

Apple has spent the past decade slinging innovation after innovation into the tech marketplace. However, the company’s latest innovation has nothing to do with cellphones, tablets, or computers. Instead, the current flagship project for the Cupertino-based company is the planning and construction of a brand new headquarters, one that, according to the San Jose Mercury News (which got an exclusive look at the model), would be in the shape of a giant, UFO-like ring, situated in the middle of a bevy of trees.

The twist? The site Apple has chosen from the new project currently has no trees to speak of. Instead, the spot is a sprawling sea of asphalt and abandoned buildings, the former location of the Hewlett-Packard Cupertino campus. Apple’s plan is to completely revitalize the space, tearing up the asphalt and demolishing the commercial feel of the spot in favor of a quieter and more serene wooded park aesthetic.

The centerpiece, of course, would be the Apple ring, a sleek design of glass and metal that would, to a certain extent, resemble the influential click wheel of Apple’s classic iPod model. Peter Oppenheimer, the corporation’s Chief Financial Officer, says the circular design will help to promote collaboration, a very important component to the success of Apple and the development of its innovative and technologically groundbreaking product stable.

Furthermore, the ring is a sustainable and environmentally-friendly design that would stave off the need for air conditioning with natural cooling and ventilation. The actual development of the project will be no less green, with recycling initiatives and renewable energy processes already in place to make the three-year construction project one of the most energy-efficient operations in the history of Silicon Valley.

However, while the ring design is undoubtedly an important part of the equation for Apple’s new headquarters, arguably the most headline-grabbing part of the proposed project has nothing to do with the building itself. As impressive as the architecture is, it’s nothing in comparison to the behemoth landscaping project that Apple is undertaking to turn an unappealing business park into a pristine nature park. Landscape designers, arborists, and other nature specialists have been working tirelessly to prepare some 7,000 trees for an eventual transplantation to the site. In other words, Apple isn’t just building an office headquarters; it’s also constructing an entire forest.

The Cupertino City Council will vote for project approval on Tuesday, and if all goes well, Apple will begin work on the new site later this year. Should approval come through, the new site will become the realization of a long-gestating dream within the Apple offices. The company began buying land for the new office in 2006, and late CEO Steve Jobs presented his initial vision for the project in June 2011.

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