Apple, Google, Samsung plan to go green with new campuses

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple's forthcoming "spaceship" campus isn't just easy on the eyes. As is the case with planned facilities for Google, Facebook, and Samsung, it will be designed to be more environmentally friendly than its predecessor, continuing a trend that has seen tech companies across Silicon Valley go green.

spaceship


Bloomberg reported Thursday on the eco-consciousness trend that's sweeping the tech sector, noting that it arguably began with Apple's Campus 2 plans. Several of the largest names in technology are planning buildings that will be less along the lines of office parks and more like nature preserves.

Speaking at the company's annual shareholder meeting, Apple CEO Tim Cook made sure to point out that the company's new campus site will result in a good deal of land reclamation. The company will bulldoze all of the buildings currently occupying the grounds. Currently the site is 80 percent covered in asphalt and concrete; when the project is done, that number will be down to 20 percent.

Artist renditions of the planned facilities show its circular frame topped with solar panels, and the design is said to be energy self-sufficient.

Google, Facebook, Nvidia, and Samsung have also announced massive new campuses, and each appears to follow Apple's eco-conscious ideal.

Google's new facility, designed in part by architects at NBBJ, will restore eight acres of wetlands at a 42-acre Mountain View property. There is also talk that the building may contain a water recycling system. The buildings on Google's campus will have landscaped green roofs, cutting down on heating and cooling costs.

Facebook's campus will feature full-grown trees atop many of its buildings. Much of one structure will be hidden by greenery, giving the look of a wooded hillside rather than a warehouse-like building.

Going green in this fashion isn't cheap. Apple's plans involve planting 6,000 trees on its 176-acre property, including a 108-tree forested courtyard. Relocating full-grown specimens can run from $60,000 to $100,000 per tree.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member


    And unlike those previously listed, this Lost City of Atlantis Torus will be centered around groves of trees and natural forrestry to blend in the solar arrays, fuel cells and all the green buildings by including an underground garage system that will sequester the exhaust out of the system as well.

  • Reply 2 of 13
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Bit of a filler, this article. We knew Apple's plans from the first time Cupertino.org put up the .pdf's. www.cupertino.org/applecampus2. Good to see FB, Samsung [U]copying[/U], nee, going green as well I guess.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    phone-ui-guyphone-ui-guy Posts: 1,019member
    If you copy the products, why not copy everything else? If you keep copying, then everyone will soon believe that you have a similar vision instead of the fact that you have no vision.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    World wide buildings consume more energy than all the cars....and for the most part inefficiently.

    Good for Apple!
  • Reply 5 of 13
    analogjackanalogjack Posts: 1,073member




     


    They could probably accommodate a small particle accelerator on the roof.

  • Reply 6 of 13
    rayzrayz Posts: 814member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AnalogJack View Post




     


    They could probably accommodate a small particle accelerator on the roof.



     


    Nicely done ... :-)

  • Reply 7 of 13
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AnalogJack View Post




     


    They could probably accommodate a small particle accelerator on the roof.



    I came here to make the retractable dome joke. :)

  • Reply 8 of 13
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AnalogJack View Post




     


    They could probably accommodate a small particle accelerator on the roof.



     


    The steampunk copper look to boot.

  • Reply 9 of 13
    allenbfallenbf Posts: 993member
    If you copy the products, why not copy everything else? If you keep copying, then everyone will soon believe that you have a similar vision instead of the fact that you have no vision.

    Apple wasn't the first company to "go green." And on this, I salute any company with the foresight to care about the environment while building a beautiful world class campus.

    Good on all of them. Love Apple's proposed campus, very zen.
  • Reply 10 of 13
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    analogjack wrote: »

    I know you jest (and very funny too) but Scamsung may really need the SteamPunk version for their South Korean offices the way that nut job in North Korea is talking!
  • Reply 11 of 13
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Well, environmentally improved office buildings aren't the worst of trends.
  • Reply 12 of 13
    allenbf wrote: »
    If you copy the products, why not copy everything else? If you keep copying, then everyone will soon believe that you have a similar vision instead of the fact that you have no vision.

    Apple wasn't the first company to "go green." And on this, I salute any company with the foresight to care about the environment while building a beautiful world class campus.

    Good on all of them. Love Apple's proposed campus, very zen.
    I know they were not the first, but they are going all in more than most. They have the money and they are certainly taking the responsibility more so than other large companies with money. Google has dabbled in it, but not done anything significantly to this point.
  • Reply 13 of 13


    It's nice to hear about that. It's true that Apple, Facebook and Google are some of the huge names in business world. Well, it's a good thing that Silicon Valley is going gree.

     

Sign In or Register to comment.