New Video (and Images) Reveal Original Intent Behind Apple Campus 2

UPDATE: Did you know that Apple Campus 2 will be solely powered by renewable energy? Also, 80 percent of its 176-acre campus will be entirely dedicated to green space. Watch the newly released Norman Foster interview (above) to learn more about the project's sustainable features, as well as details about Steve Job's original inspiration. The following news was originally published as "New Images Released of Apple’s Recently Approved Cupertino Campus" on November 13, 2013.

Shortly after the approval of Apple’s new corporate headquarters in Cupertino, never-before-seen images have emerged to reveal a glimpse into the campus’ massive, 2.8 million square foot “mothership” and its surrounding facilities.

Provided by the City of Cupertino and released by Wired, the images depict just what Steve Job’s hoped for: a world-class, state-of-the-art office campus that promotes innovation through vibrant communal spaces and healthy employee amenities. From the net-positive main building to a private, subterranean auditorium placed within a forested, California-native landscape by OLIN, the Foster + Partners-designed Apple Campus 2 has the potential to be, as Job’s believed, “the best office building in the world.”

A collection of the newly released renderings, after the break...

Aerial of the Main Building, a.k.a the "Mothership". Image © City of Cupertino

The “Mothership”

Framing a lush courtyard space on the Northern portion of the 176-acre campus lies the site’s centerpiece: a circular monolith, a.k.a the “Main Building” or “Mothership”, which will provide high performance office, research and development space to 12,000 employees. Though many images have been published of the Main Building’s exterior, these are the first to reveal just what one might expect when entering the structure’s four-story interior.

Inside the Main Building. Image © City of Cupertino
Cafeteria inside the Main Building, providing a majority of the structure's 60,000 sf of dining space. Image © City of Cupertino
The Main Building's outdoor terrace that extends into lush orchard and woodlands. Image © City of Cupertino

Beneath the “Mothership”

While photovoltaic arrays cover the Main Building’s top, a large underground parking garage will form its base. Hidden from view, the 2,000-space lot will be accessed by a roadway submerged beneath the forest. 

Additional parking will be provided by an above-ground garage on the campus’ southern edge. Though not completely hidden from view, its camouflage greenwalls will help it blend in with the surrounding nature. Bike lanes and shuttles will be provided to move people throughout the site. 

Those arriving by bus, will be greeted by a state-of-the-art Corporate Transit Center complete with two white, grandiose staircases ushering them to the Main Building.

Subterranean access road leading to parking below the Main Building. Image © City of Cupertino
Corporate Transit Center. Image © City of Cupertino

Subterranean Corporate Auditorium

Accessed only by a gravel pathway leading through an open grassy field, the private, subterranean Corporate Auditorium will be reserved for special presentations and events. Upon arrival, visitors will be welcomed into a glass encased entry room, topped with a flat, circular roof, before being lead below ground to a 1,000-seat theater and event space. 

Corporate Auditorium. Image © City of Cupertino
Corporate Auditorium interior. Image © City of Cupertino

Visitors Entrance and Visitors Center

Visitor's Entrance. Image © City of Cupertino
Visitor's Center. Image © City of Cupertino

A quaint Visitors Entrance facility and Visitors Center will embody a similar language as the Corporate Auditorium, and most Apple stores for that matter. Though shaped differently, according to its own unique program, both will feature expansive glass walls and all-white finishes.

Employee Gym

Employee Gym. Image © City of Cupertino

To keep employees healthy and happy, the modern campus wouldn’t be complete without an all inclusive sports gym integrated within a impressive network of multi-use trails.

Learn more about Apple Campus 2 here on ArchDaily. More never-before-seen renderings can be viewed on Wired.

About this author
Cite: Karissa Rosenfield. "New Video (and Images) Reveal Original Intent Behind Apple Campus 2" 21 Apr 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/448391/new-images-released-of-apple-s-newly-approved-cupertino-campus> ISSN 0719-8884

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