Way back in 2011, it was said that Steve Jobs has aspirations to create what was supposed to be the best office building the world had ever seen. Five years later, this office came to be known by many as the “Spaceship Campus” due to its flying saucer-like design, which is expected to be completed by mid 2017. Current CEO, Tim Cook has worked hard to deliver on this and it’s fair to say that the late Steve Jobs’ wishes have come true.
While many criticized and praised the project overall, one thing can be certain: the project was ambitious by Apple. Here are a few fun things about Apple’s Spaceship Campus.
- If anything Tim Cook has said with regards to the project are to be believed, it’s that the project costs somewhere close to 5 Billion Dollars (Approx. 34,000 Crore in Rupees) to construct. The project thus exceeded the initial estimated budget of 3 Billion Dollars. That would make it even more expensive than most buildings in Vegas.
- The campus is so big that it covers 2/3rds the size of the US Pentagon. It’s no secret that the Pentagon is massive. It’s reported that the Apple campus will encompass an incredible 2.8 million square feet of area for its operations.
- The walls of the building will be comprised of complete glass. Not just any glass, but curved glass. When the project gets completed, the building will reportedly be wrapped by over 3000 curved glass sheets.
- Apple’s campus will not use off-grid electricity. It will instead harvest energy from renewable sources such as solar panels that will span over 700,000 square feet. This solar initiative will produce 8-megawatts of power which can power at least 4000 homes. It’s not enough though as the campus will still need additional power which will be supplied by solar and wind power from the state of California.
- Seeing that the construction must have caused some significant damage to the greenery in the area, the campus will have a total of 7000 trees in its area. Once construction is completed, around 80% of the area will be covered in greenery which will include the likes of apricot orchards.
- In order to keep its employees fit and healthy, the building will also have a 100,000 square feet fitness center accompanied by jogging and cycling trails across the campus.
- Apple will supposedly follow Google’s approach when it comes to keeping their employees’ appetites satisfied. Hence there will be a multitude of cafeterias. One cafeteria alone will cover an area of about 60,000 square feet which can accommodate up to 3000 people. The food really is important and is paramount to a company’s success.
- The initiative will see Apple hire many new faces. The Apple campus should be able to accommodate up to 13,000 people. That’s no small number. In fact, that number is larger than the population of many towns in the United States and could quite frankly make the Apple Spaceship Campus, a state of its own.
- Some of the internal designs will be inspired by famous Apple consumer products. According to some of the workers involved in the project, elements within the building such as the toilet seats will resemble an iPhone.
- An underground carpark will also be built so as to ensure that cars do not block the view outside. In total, there will be more than 10,000 parking spaces underground for employees to keep their vehicles.
With the project set to be completed later this year, Apple seems to be on track to fulfil on such aspirations. Many would claim that Steve Jobs would’ve been proud at the progress the company has made so far and the Apple Spaceship Campus only adds to it. Now, all that’s left is for the company to continue delivering world class premium products such as the much talked about iPhone 8 or the new slew of MacBooks.
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