Apple 'thrilled' to have Campus 2 in Cupertino, says CFO Peter Oppenheimer
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Apple's chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said his company "can't wait" to get started on the massive Campus 2 undertaking, which was granted final approval by the Cupertino City Council earlier this week.
As previously reported, the scheduled press conference announced the city council's decision to give Apple the go-ahead to start construction of its so-called "spaceship campus." A video of the proceedings was posted to the city's webpage on Thursday.
"This is a very special moment for us at Apple," Oppenheimer told the small gathering at Cupertino's Community Hall. "We have put a tremendous amount of love and energy into this campus, and we can't wait to get started building it."
The executive also noted that Apple would be maintaining residence at its current campus located a few miles away.
Echoing a sentiment made by late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs when he first revealed the project in 2011, Oppenheimer said the huge circular main building will be the "best office building ever built in the world." Covering 2.8 million square feet, the central structure will reach four stories high, feature an interior made exclusively from the "heartwood" of a specific species of maple tree and be wrapped by gigantic curved glass window panes.
Due to the intricate design and construction, Apple's plan was said to be $2 billion over the original $3 billion budget, according to an April report. The ballooning costs caused a delay as architects looked for a way to trim $1 billion from the build.
When asked about the budget on Wednesday, Oppenheimer said, "We're going to spend the right amount of money on this." He explained that a balance would be struck between being responsible spenders to Apple shareholders and building a campus that will facilitate collaboration.
Alongside the "spaceship" will be ancillary office buildings, while revised plans from April noted a 120,000-square-foot underground auditorium, above and below ground parking, bike paths, reconfigured public streets and pedestrian walkways, among other enhancements.
Also of note is the environmental friendliness of the campus, which will generate 70 percent of its own energy from solar and fuel cell installments, while the rest is planned to be purchased from plants specializing in renewable resources.
While a concrete finish-by date has yet to be set, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in February that Apple plans to complete construction and move in by 2016.
"Cupertino is Apple's home, we love Cupertino, we're very proud to be here and we're thrilled that Apple Campus 2 will be part of Cupertino," he said.
As previously reported, the scheduled press conference announced the city council's decision to give Apple the go-ahead to start construction of its so-called "spaceship campus." A video of the proceedings was posted to the city's webpage on Thursday.
"This is a very special moment for us at Apple," Oppenheimer told the small gathering at Cupertino's Community Hall. "We have put a tremendous amount of love and energy into this campus, and we can't wait to get started building it."
The executive also noted that Apple would be maintaining residence at its current campus located a few miles away.
Echoing a sentiment made by late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs when he first revealed the project in 2011, Oppenheimer said the huge circular main building will be the "best office building ever built in the world." Covering 2.8 million square feet, the central structure will reach four stories high, feature an interior made exclusively from the "heartwood" of a specific species of maple tree and be wrapped by gigantic curved glass window panes.
Due to the intricate design and construction, Apple's plan was said to be $2 billion over the original $3 billion budget, according to an April report. The ballooning costs caused a delay as architects looked for a way to trim $1 billion from the build.
When asked about the budget on Wednesday, Oppenheimer said, "We're going to spend the right amount of money on this." He explained that a balance would be struck between being responsible spenders to Apple shareholders and building a campus that will facilitate collaboration.
Alongside the "spaceship" will be ancillary office buildings, while revised plans from April noted a 120,000-square-foot underground auditorium, above and below ground parking, bike paths, reconfigured public streets and pedestrian walkways, among other enhancements.
Also of note is the environmental friendliness of the campus, which will generate 70 percent of its own energy from solar and fuel cell installments, while the rest is planned to be purchased from plants specializing in renewable resources.
While a concrete finish-by date has yet to be set, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in February that Apple plans to complete construction and move in by 2016.
"Cupertino is Apple's home, we love Cupertino, we're very proud to be here and we're thrilled that Apple Campus 2 will be part of Cupertino," he said.
Comments
Echoing a sentiment made by late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs when he first revealed the project in 2011, Oppenheimer said the huge circular main building will be the "best office building ever built in the world." Covering 2.8 million square feet, the central structure will reach four stories high, feature an interior made exclusively from the "heartwood" of a specific species of maple tree and be wrapped by gigantic curved glass window panes.
What's with the specific species of maple?
I question the purpose for wood on the interior of my car as well. A high performance modern car should not have any wood and neither should a building referred to as a spaceship. Does the space station have a wood dash?
They're talking about trees grown inside the "space ship". Not about furniture. Read back the articles about this, they said that only a small percentage of the land will be actually built upon, the rest will be greenery etc.
Most people find the look of wood pleasing. A warm contrast to the otherwise sterile and monotonous tones of stone or white walls, a perfect symbiosis, which is why I suspect Apple uses wood tables in their stores. I hope Apple spares no expense with this amazing building, they've certainly earned it, and then some!
Lol. And it'll have the competition running around in circles.
Is the above person and below are same?
They must have given their best photos and a nice makeup man worked
Below is from Apple Profile pics
Totally aside from all the snarky quips made here in this comments thread, if anyone takes a few minutes to view the video of the press conference, and if they give half a damn about Apple and its founder, and/or if they have at least a scrap of human decency and common sense left in them, they'll appreciate the words of Cupertino's mayor and Mr. Oppenheimer, who both referred to Apple's love of Cupertino, which reflects Steve's own love of the city where he grew up and in which he founded Apple. I'm glad Steve was able to make his last public appearance before Cupertino's city council to make his personal pitch for Apple's Campus 2. He did it with pride, with love, and with respect.
This is one of the best "home town boy made good" stories of all time--this boy who not only made good, but who stayed/returned home to be able to benefit his community significantly, and who left a thriving company with similar values and on-going industry and spirit of innovation to have the where with all to fully expect to continue its contributions for decades.
It was both sad that one person in the audience asked about Apple's "exit strategy" for the building who irrationally compared Apple to other corporate entities--perhaps such as HP which DIDN'T have the staying power to maintain this same property which Apple purchased, and it was a pleasure to see and hear Peter's response to that question, in which he fully expected Apple to REMAIN there for decades, well beyond his own tenure.
To me, Peter's brief talk echoed Apple's sincere love for itself, its customers, its Cupertino neighbors, the environment, and for its operations, which continue to produce the best products in the world and for continuing to delight its customers.
This to me is one great example of "what is greatness": to continue to love in spite of reasons not to.
I can't wait to see this new campus finished and Apple occupying it and making more great products for us all.
Get used to that here, happens all the time, unfortunately.
You were saying something about snarky...?
we don't know who watched and who didn't
Who said anything about new products being created there? They are keeping their current building, though I would presume so, given the 23 year more modern facilities.
And yes, fully agree on Oppenheimer being professional here!
A high performance modern car should not have any wood and neither should a building referred to as a spaceship.
Really? Stop it.
Heartwood is very dense, strong and long lasting. It is also a renewable resource.
Not so easy to work with, however. Add a few to several million for this visual and tactile enrichment. It will be appreciated in years to come. The purpose of wood in such monumental structures is to bring Nature inside.
I'd have to agree with [B]mstone[/B] that "wood" in the average BMW or Yukon is very dubious eye candy. Is it even real wood, except in a Rolls or a Bentley?
Is the above person and below are same?
They must have given their best photos and a nice makeup man worked
Below is from Apple Profile pics
Photos don't age like people.
The profile picture looks like a guy named Peter, the recent one looks more like a guy named Barney. Maybe it's his dishevelled brother Barney Oppenheimer. The people at Apple should start randomly calling him Barney to uncover the switch and see how he reacts.
What's with the specific species of maple?
I question the purpose for wood on the interior of my car as well. A high performance modern car should not have any wood and neither should a building referred to as a spaceship. Does the space station have a wood dash?
I guess you would prefer it be made of stone then.
I personally prefer bananas