Apple Inc Campus 2 Spaceship Ring tops out cafeteria segment (video)

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2015
The grand, expansive dining area portal of the center "Spaceship" Ring in Apple's Campus 2 mega-project has reached its ceiling, with a steel structure now only barely visible over the construction barrier from the street, but clearly discernible from the air.

Apple Campus 2 Gates
Apple Campus 2 Gates, from the street


The current view from the north (above) shows just the tip of roof from the street. From higher up, you better can see the progress of the structure, which was just beginning to rise in February and is now topped out. A higher quality version of the video is on Vimeo




Apple Campus 2 Gates, from the sky


Also visible in and around the "Spaceship" Ring are concrete void slabs used to build an interlocking foundation and wall structure, which "serve as both the ceiling of one floor and support for the raised surface of the floor above," Apple has stated. The slabs are now building the first and second floors of the structure.

Void slab construction

Emphasizing the results of working with diverse, local suppliers, Apple details on its jobs website that the concrete void slabs for Campus 2 were sourced from the family-owned firm Clark Pacific. To build the slabs, Clark Pacific was said to have "developed a unique structural design to meet the demands of Apple Campus 2."

Apple also says that Clark Pacific "now has four plants dedicated to producing products directly related to the [Campus 2] project," and has hired new workers to rapidly expand its operations.

"The innovation and manufacturing that went into Apple Campus 2 have also enabled Clark Pacific to expand to other large-scale construction projects up and down the West Coast," Apple stated.

Apple's web site states, "We have approached this [Campus 2 construction] project with the same care and attention to detail we devote to designing any Apple product. We will replace 2.65 million square feet of environmentally and operationally obsolete buildings with a 2.8-million-square-foot iconic, 21st-century research and development campus."

Views from the south, model up close

A previous tour of the Campus 2 construction site last week detailed progress from the southern side (below).



A model of the project (above), photographed by San Jose Mercury News depicts the initial steel structure as supporting an large open dining room area with ceilings tall enough to accommodate large trees, surrounded by a curtain of glass.

Campus 2
Photo credit: Dai Sugano, Bay Area News Group.


Campus 2
Photo credit: Dai Sugano, Bay Area News Group.

Expected occupation by the end of next year

Granted final approval just a year and a half ago, Apple's Campus 2 project is rapidly moving toward its occupancy goal of 2016.

Apple's cofounder Steve Jobs unveiled the huge project in 2011, noting that the central 2.8-million-square-foot "Spaceship" structure would house at least 12,000 employees, surrounded by bucolic landscaping including orchards of fruit trees and other greenery, featuring open space and walking paths to reclaim most of the 150-acre plot previously covered by asphalt parking lots.

Campus 2 Ring


Campus 2 open space


See previous coverage on AppleInsider of Apple Campus 2 and the current Infinite Loop headquarters, or our other articles on drones. Viewers interested in the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ drone can read more about the device or pick one up here.

Update: Article was updated after publication to clarify that the visible steel structure supports a Campus 2 cafeteria and dining area, rather than simple entry.

Note: Readers should be aware that Apple's Campus 2 site is extremely hazardous to photograph using an aerial drone, in part because the site is so large it is nearly impossible to fly over even one quarter of the site within constant visual or radio contact using consumer drone, and in part because the site is partially within an FAA restricted zone because of the nearby San Jose International Airport. There is constant low flying aircraft traffic over the site. We strongly encourage inexperienced aerial drone pilots not to attempt to fly in or around the site.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 61
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    That's not the gate, that's the restaurant.
    Maybe they've started with this sector of the building so that they can build the rest starting from it and use it to bring materials and machines inside the ring as it closes.
  • Reply 2 of 61
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member

    "...the site is partially within an FAA restricted zone because of the nearby San Jose International Airport."

     

    So...Amazon won't be able to deliver important building materials 

    and instruction manuals as the project continues???

  • Reply 3 of 61
    wdowellwdowell Posts: 226member
    The disclaimer note at the end made me laugh.
  • Reply 4 of 61
    boredumb wrote: »
    So...Amazon won't be able to deliver important building materials 
    and instruction manuals as the project continues???

    Amazon?

    This campus will turn into the Amazon when it's done.
  • Reply 5 of 61
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    wdowell wrote: »
    The disclaimer note at the end made me laugh.

    Yes, I said the same thing after the last post on this subject that had the same footer. I had mental images of swarms of amateur drones, in clouds like mosquitoes flying everywhere.
  • Reply 6 of 61
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    clemynx wrote: »
    That's not the gate, that's the restaurant.
    Maybe they've started with this sector of the building so that they can build the rest starting from it and use it to bring materials and machines inside the ring as it closes.

    As Nappy famously said, 'An army marches on its stomach' ... It's just Apple getting its priorities right! :D
  • Reply 7 of 61



    Beautiful site. Can't think of another construction site that is being kept so clean. Especially such a monstrous project.

     

    And unless you are of the privileged few, we won't see the entire accomplishment. Surely there are filming the development in 3 D HD on the go, and it will be in a standard that few cinemaphotograhers will ever enjoy. I can't wait.

  • Reply 8 of 61
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member

    Damn.  This is going to be so effing' beautiful.  I really wish I would have an opportunity to see it all one day.

     

    Oh well.

  • Reply 9 of 61
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    aaronj wrote: »
    Damn.  This is going to be so effing' beautiful.  I really wish I would have an opportunity to see it all one day.

    Oh well.

    Why not?
  • Reply 10 of 61
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post





    Why not?



    Because I'm fairly sure that they aren't going to allow outsiders to just see what the great new Apple product is. :)

  • Reply 11 of 61
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AaronJ View Post

     



    Because I'm fairly sure that they aren't going to allow outsiders to just see what the great new Apple product is. :)




    There's a Company Store at IL today, I'm sure there will be one at Campus 2.

  • Reply 12 of 61
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    They'll certainly have tours and a gift shop for tourists. ????
  • Reply 13 of 61

    They must have a film crew on-site for the inevitable special on Discovery.

  • Reply 14 of 61
    I'd like to be a gardener in the central circle of the new building :)
  • Reply 15 of 61
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    sartor wrote: »
    I'd like to be a gardener in the central circle of the new building :)

    Get your application in now. ????
  • Reply 16 of 61
    They'll certainly have tours and a gift shop for tourists. ????

    I'm hoping for an underground tour like they have at Disney World. :D

    700

    I've been in the tunnels beneath Magic Kingdom when I worked there... nothing too special though.

    But I'd love to at least walk past the door to Jony's secret lab!
  • Reply 17 of 61
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member

    I'm wondering about the trees/shrubs seen inside the entrance in those drawings.  I don't see any roof openings or glass to let light in.  Maybe it's just not shown in the drawing?  Trees need outrageous amounts of light to grow properly - not really efficient to do it with artificial lighting.  

  • Reply 18 of 61
    I don't see this opening before mid-2017, at the earliest.
  • Reply 19 of 61
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    I don't see this opening before mid-2017, at the earliest.

    LOL... No.
  • Reply 20 of 61
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Benjamin Frost View Post

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by boredumb View Post

    So...Amazon won't be able to deliver important building materials 

    and instruction manuals as the project continues???

    Amazon?

    This campus will turn into the Amazon when it's done.


    Sorry - I'll revise - I was referring to the part about drone prohibitions in that area...

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