Photos of Apple Campus 2 construction site show 'underground tunnels,' continued progress

Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2014
As construction of Apple's Campus 2 headquarters in Cupertino continues, new aerial photos published Thursday show completed perimeter wall structures and below-grade levels ringing the footprint of the main structure.


Source: Ron Cervi via Twitter


Two photos posted to Twitter and Instagram by KCBS traffic reporter Ron Cervi show dramatic progress being made at Apple's Campus 2 site, which only last month began to take shape.

A little over one month following Cervi's first aerial pictures of Campus 2 construction, it appears that crews have carved out most of the basic substructure below the "spaceship" building and erected perimeter walls. As for the features Cervi calls "underground tunnels," the massive troughs are much larger than nearby heavy equipment and vehicles, suggesting the features will be used for below-grade floors.

Plans for Apple's Campus 2 call for underground parking, though it looks as though construction teams have not yet made accommodations for the structure.

Construction of Campus 2 has been ongoing since Apple won final approval for the project from the Cupertino City Council last November. Original plans for the sprawling campus were unveiled by late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs in 2011.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company plans to move into the "spaceship" by 2016, but it is unclear if supporting buildings will be finished in that time period.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 39
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Another:

     

    © Ron Cervi. All rights reserved.

  • Reply 2 of 39
    hypoluxahypoluxa Posts: 694member

    Will this be bigger than the Pentagon? It looks like it! Damn!

  • Reply 3 of 39
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by hypoluxa View Post

    Will this be bigger than the Pentagon? It looks like it! Damn!



    Larger in circumference, not in floor space. Unless Apple’s building underground, too.

  • Reply 4 of 39
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     



    Larger in circumference, not in floor space. Unless Apple’s building underground, too.


     

    If I remember correctly, the only thing underground is parking?

  • Reply 5 of 39
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by macxpress View Post

    If I remember correctly, the only thing underground is parking?

     

    Well... that they’ve told us.

     

    The mile-long shaft down to Jony’s secret lab, of course, doesn’t show up on the real plans.

  • Reply 6 of 39
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macxpress View Post

     

    If I remember correctly, the only thing underground is parking?


    No, I believe the 1000 seat auditorium is underground as well, but it's not under the main building. Phase I of the construction is probably just the main building and a multi-story parking garage.

     

    There's supposedly an isolated high-security research campus off to the side, as well as the auditorium. Those are probably in a later phase of the construction.

     

    Here's a Wired article with mention of the underground auditorium:

     

    http://www.wired.com/2013/11/a-glimpse-into-apples-crazy-new-spaceship-headquarters/?viewall=true

  • Reply 7 of 39
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mpantone View Post

     

    No, I believe the 1000 seat auditorium is underground as well, but it's not under the main building. Phase I of the construction is probably just the main building and a multi-story parking garage.

     

    There's supposedly a high-security research campus off to the side, as well as the auditorium. Those are probably in a later phase of the construction.


     

    We meant under the main building...not the surrounding buildings. 

  • Reply 8 of 39
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by macxpress View Post

    We meant under the main building...not the surrounding buildings. 



    That’s a thought, though. The auditorium might be connected to The Infinite Loop from underground. Why would Apple want to have to carry their prototypes outside, across the yard, and down through the front doors?

  • Reply 9 of 39
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member

    Well, there is a separate high-security research campus slated for the site, on a separate dead-end road. Prototype labs could go there. People without the proper clearance wouldn't even be allowed to approach the building(s).

     

    Concerning underground usage of the main building, my guess is that they would put some support services/facilities down there: power, maybe HVAC ducting, security, possibly some server rooms rather than take up valuable real estate on the main floor.

  • Reply 10 of 39
    danitedanite Posts: 9member
    Doesn't the word tunnel imply the characteristic underground?
  • Reply 11 of 39
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    As for the features Cervi calls "underground tunnels,"

    Shh...don't tell the Israelis

  • Reply 12 of 39
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    danite wrote: »
    Doesn't the word tunnel imply the characteristic underground?

    That's how I interpret it. Otherwise a passageway dug into the ground that isn't covered by some sort of structure is a trench.

    At the very least I think they have "underground trenches" for getting across the ring quickly which you may not want to do outside in the courtyard if the weather is poor.
  • Reply 13 of 39
    msanttimsantti Posts: 1,377member
    Jony Ive's secret bunker is down there.

    :p
  • Reply 14 of 39
    wmsfowmsfo Posts: 28member

    Did you know that the City of Cupertino has a whole section dedicated to the Apple Campus 2?

     

    http://www.cupertino.org/index.aspx?page=1207

     

    A lot of your questions about parking, etc. can be answered in the Project Description of the Apple's Updated Proposal Documents - PC - Plan Set 9-16-2013 - https://s3.amazonaws.com/apple-campus2-project/Project_Description_Submittal7.pdf

     

    As for the underground parking, I recommend you read Page 8 of the Project Description. The various parking areas - Main Building Employee Basement Parking, Main Site Employee Parking Structure, Tantau Parking Structure, Wolfe and Tantau Visitor Parking, and Tantau Development Parking - have their individual specifics listed.

     

    Page 13 in the Project Description describes the Corporate Auditorium - which will have fixed seating for 1,000 persons.

  • Reply 15 of 39
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member

    Of course, we're not seeing the "real" campus.  3 miles northeast and 1 mile underground, with a high-speed elevator / rail system between that and the decoy "spaceship" campus in Cupertino.  You heard it here first.

     

    /s

  • Reply 16 of 39
    georgeip5georgeip5 Posts: 225member
    John's ham Ive's going to have a giant work studio now. Must be some where in that bottom floor. Maybe in the centre under the garden in the middle of the campus. I wander if they'll add a Steve Jobs statue to the middle of some sort or if at all.
  • Reply 17 of 39
    michael scripmichael scrip Posts: 1,916member
    danite wrote: »
    Doesn't the word tunnel imply the characteristic underground?

    The parking decks will be below the surface of the site with the main structure above it.

    That sounds underground to me.

    I mean... if you're standing on the ground-level of the office... but there are two floors below you... aren't those floors underground?
  • Reply 18 of 39
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member

    Interesting. The Campus 2 project description does mention that some plant rooms are planned for underground, as well as the main kitchen directly below the restaurant.

     

    Both make sense. Windowless restaurant kitchens are considered more efficient; the prep work and primary cooking would all happen here, as well as any baking. The underground loading dock for the restaurant would also imply walk-in refrigerators, freezers, and dry goods storage. Restaurant staff locker rooms and a break room would probably be located adjacent, as well as offices for restaurant management.

     

    The primary shipping/receiving dock would be underground, as well as the mail room.

     

    Also, there would likely be storage for housekeeping/maintenance as well as IT, for things like toilet paper & restroom cleaning supplies, light bulbs, cable/wire spools, etc. The main security surveillance room would probably be underground as well, maybe a small dungeon for visitors from Samsung or Google. ;)

     

    We know that Apple does have some anechoic chambers, so underground might be the right place for that, although they may want to put that in the Tantau Development Campus, where the alleged top-secret labs would go.

  • Reply 19 of 39
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member

    The tunnels are most likely for MEP services since the Central Plant is at the far south west corner of the property.

  • Reply 20 of 39

    Can you "Particle Accellerator?… Sure…sure you can."

     

    I knew it, and I'm just putting it out there...

Sign In or Register to comment.