Apple pursuing close, 'day-to-day' oversight of Campus 2 construction

Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2015
Even with well-established plans for contractors, Apple is micromanaging the construction of its Campus 2 complex in Cupertino, a new report revealed on Wednesday.




The company is "heavily involved," a person who worked on the project commented to Business Insider, observing that "day-to-day interaction was pretty constant." Apple is noted to have some of its workers assigned to each "specific geographic location" on the ring-shaped construction site, which is divided into nine wedges. Apple's architectural partner on the project, Fosters & Partners, is helping with oversight.

The BI source claimed that Apple has "raised the bar for construction standards" in the U.S., and in meetings would use the iPhone as a metaphor for its plans.

"There were many meetings when the Apple representative would pick up your [iPhone] and say: 'That's what we're building.' What that means is -- if you look at the phone, there's the sheen on the phone, there's the bevel on the phone, there's how much shine they have... every piece of that phone is engineered, and the building is the same way," the person remarked.

Based on the person's work on other projects, Apple's effort allegedly "far exceeds" that of other tech companies.

Campus 2 construction is well underway, but not scheduled to finish until late 2016 at the earliest. Apple in fact dropped two major contractors earlier this summer, which could potentially push completion into 2017.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    thewhitefalconthewhitefalcon Posts: 4,453member

    Trust me, I know a client with a higher bar than Apple. Apple also had to cut back on some of their demands due to cost, and this thing is still way over budget.

     

    Maybe things will calm down when it's done and the teams aren't spread across Cupertino. We'll see.

  • Reply 2 of 22
    schlackschlack Posts: 719member
    interesting. apple can't tackle everything with a full blown team. but they do want to the spaceship to be done to that level. that's kind of cool.
  • Reply 3 of 22
    notownnotown Posts: 39member

    It's just the Pentagon with rounded corners. Can't be that novel of a building. /s

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     

    Trust me, I know a client with a higher bar than Apple. Apple also had to cut back on some of their demands due to cost, and this thing is still way over budget.

     

    Maybe things will calm down when it's done and the teams aren't spread across Cupertino. We'll see.


    Is the client you know building something anywhere close to this scale? A residential building, average-sized commercial development, or even a museum pale in comparison to both the scale and standards Apple seems to have for its Campus 2 complex.

     

    What do Apple's workers spread across Cupertino have to do with things calming down and the quality of work from the Contractor? Honest question.

  • Reply 4 of 22
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Trust me, I know a client with a higher bar than Apple. Apple also had to cut back on some of their demands due to cost, and this thing is still way over budget.

    Maybe things will calm down when it's done and the teams aren't spread across Cupertino. We'll see.

    I'm sure you do. Convenient, since you tend to come into most threads to shit on positive news.
  • Reply 5 of 22
    thewhitefalconthewhitefalcon Posts: 4,453member
    notown wrote: »
    It's just the Pentagon with rounded corners. Can't be that novel of a building. /s
    Is the client you know building something anywhere close to this scale? A residential building, average-sized commercial development, or even a museum pale in comparison to both the scale and standards Apple seems to have for its Campus 2 complex.

    What do Apple's workers spread across Cupertino have to do with things calming down and the quality of work from the Contractor? Honest question.

    I mean the quality of software. And yes, they're building large scale projects.
  • Reply 6 of 22
    ericthehalfbeeericthehalfbee Posts: 4,485member
    I mean the quality of software. And yes, they're building large scale projects.

    Then you can name them. If they're that big they'd have hundreds if not thousands of employees, so nobody is going to figure out who posted.
  • Reply 7 of 22
    bradipaobradipao Posts: 145member
    Micro-management is used when you fail at management. :no:
  • Reply 8 of 22
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Then you can name them. If they're that big they'd have hundreds if not thousands of employees, so nobody is going to figure out who posted.

    Why do you want his client names?
  • Reply 9 of 22
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Trust me, I know a client with a higher bar than Apple. Apple also had to cut back on some of their demands due to cost, and this thing is still way over budget.

    Maybe things will calm down when it's done and the teams aren't spread across Cupertino. We'll see.

    I never trust anybody who starts with "Trust me." Just like 25 years ago, I stopped listening when someone said,"Let me be honest with you." Glad that one died out. Wish "trust me" would.
  • Reply 10 of 22
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Anyway, it's interesting that they've divided the torus into the harmonious and mystical number of nine, the same as the number of microtubule bundles in cilia and the sperm tail, and the universal micromotor of the biological world.
  • Reply 11 of 22
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    No shit.

    http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/jonathan-ive.html
    Jonathan Ive is Apple’s Chief Design Officer, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Jony is responsible for all design at Apple, including the look and feel of Apple hardware, user interface, packaging, major architectural projects such as Apple Campus 2 and Apple’s retail stores, as well as new ideas and future initiatives.
  • Reply 12 of 22
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Trust me, I know a client with a higher bar than Apple. Apple also had to cut back on some of their demands due to cost, and this thing is still way over budget.

    Maybe things will calm down when it's done and the teams aren't spread across Cupertino. We'll see.

    Just curious how you would know this since none of us know what Apple's bar is? Unless you're in the gossip chain and know?

    I'm not sure what software bugs have to do with this story though.
  • Reply 13 of 22
    pscooter63pscooter63 Posts: 1,080member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Apple is noted to have some of its workers assigned to each "specific geographic location" on the ring-shaped construction site, which is divided into nine wedges.

     

    Nine arcs.

  • Reply 14 of 22
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    I know this is a wicked thought but imagine the day before Apple moves in a massive quake hits the building and leaves it flattened.
  • Reply 15 of 22
    My first thought was the close management is ,in part, to prevent industrial espionage.

    Like the Russian built U.S. embassy in Moscow long ago. Totally bugged.

    I would like an inside at Apple as I am sure some info could be very valuable.

    Bet the windows will not carry conversation vibrations...l

    Even paranoids have enemies.
  • Reply 16 of 22
    Strikes me that Apple might not want Chinese, Russian, NSA or whoever's "equipment" cleverly installed throughout the death star by minimally vetted "sub-contractors." Really, how hard would that scenario be if Apple weren't watching EVERYTHING.

    Would you want to be the one to say, "I guarantee it Tim, NOT ONE unauthorized device has found its way through the construction process." I would not.
  • Reply 17 of 22
    dachardachar Posts: 330member
    Client micro management on a construction site usually results in two things: delays and higher costs. Contractors love variations to the contract as it allows them to clawback profit that may have been sacrificed to win a competitive contract. If Apple is to have any chance to stop been taken advantage of then they will need to employ very skilled property professionals who know the contract inside out. This could well be what the Architects are helping with. It is unlikely that normall non construction Apple staff will have the right experience. I wish Jony Ive and his team the very best of luck in trying to achieve iPhone like quality on a construction site. This will be be a massive challenge. Building sites are not the same as production lines.
  • Reply 18 of 22
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    dachar wrote: »
    Client micro management on a construction site usually results in two things: delays and higher costs. Contractors love variations to the contract as it allows them to clawback profit that may have been sacrificed to win a competitive contract. If Apple is to have any chance to stop been taken advantage of then they will need to employ very skilled property professionals who know the contract inside out. This could well be what the Architects are helping with. It is unlikely that normall non construction Apple staff will have the right experience. I wish Jony Ive and his team the very best of luck in trying to achieve iPhone like quality on a construction site. This will be be a massive challenge. Building sites are not the same as production lines.

    Jony Ive is buddies with Norman Foster (whose firm Ive apparently selected for the redesign of his house in SF). In that New Yorker article Ive refers to the Foster & Partner's team working on Campus 2 as "Norman's boys". In some ways I get the feeling Apple views this as Steve's final Apple product/last gift to the world and they're intimately involved because he would have been. In that New Yorker article Ive said:
    “This is something that Steve cared about passionately,” Ive said. “There is a bittersweetness here, because this is obviously about the future, but every time I come here it makes me think of the past as well—and just the sadness. I just wish he could have seen it.”
  • Reply 19 of 22
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    rogifan wrote: »

    Jony's involvement means this is all just the first mockup. There will be 99 more variations before the final building is selected. ????
  • Reply 20 of 22
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Strikes me that Apple might not want Chinese, Russian, NSA or whoever's "equipment" cleverly installed throughout the death star by minimally vetted "sub-contractors." Really, how hard would that scenario be if Apple weren't watching EVERYTHING.

    Would you want to be the one to say, "I guarantee it Tim, NOT ONE unauthorized device has found its way through the construction process." I would not.

    I couldn't guarantee that the e-books lawsuit overseer (whatever his name is) isn't actually an NSA plant.
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