New video montage shows gradual evolution of Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino

Posted:
in General Discussion
New drone footage shows the progress that has been made on the Apple Park headquarters facility in the last year -- but there still appears to be a lot of outstanding tasks to hammer out .




Though some buildings are now essentially complete -- such as the "spaceship," the parking garages, and the fitness and R&D centers -- work is unfinished in areas like the main tunnel, as seen in drone footage shot and compiled by Matthew Roberts. Landscaping and the Steve Jobs Theater are a long ways from completion, though both have made progress and were already only scheduled to finish sometime later this year.

Construction equipment and debris has gradually vanished, leaving many areas much cleaner. There are no longer any cranes on the site for example, and the infamous "mountain of dirt" has completely disappeared.



Eventually Apple Park will fill with more than 12,000 people, including CEO Tim Cook. The company's original headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop is expected to be repurposed and gather together various cloud teams.

Apple Park has experienced various delays and cost overruns, in the order of years and billions of dollars. It was in fact originally meant to open as far back as 2015, but was held back by factors like Apple's strict demands for materials and design. The company has also installed green energy wherever possible, including a mix of fuel cells and rooftop solar panels.

The new headquarters was one of the last things announced by former CEO Steve Jobs. He in fact played a key part in its general design, and coined the "spaceship" term for the main ring.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    The operant word still being "gradual"...
  • Reply 2 of 14
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    It would have been nice to point out some of the major changes...the clips go by so fast its hard to see unless you want to keep stopping the video.
  • Reply 3 of 14
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    boredumb said:
    The operant word still being "gradual"...
    Good work takes time...especially on something of this scale. I don't think some realize how large of a project this is, nor do they realize the scale of the main building. I'd rather its done right the first time and not rush it. If everything isn't done until December of this year then it is what it is. Its not costing any one of us any money so why do we care?
    mwhiteStrangeDays
  • Reply 4 of 14
    macxpress said:
    It would have been nice to point out some of the major changes...the clips go by so fast its hard to see unless you want to keep stopping the video.
    Exactly! It's difficult to compare and contrast while panning. Still shots / photos would work better for that. 
  • Reply 5 of 14
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    Honestly, I could have thrown this video together in iMovie using existing clips (yes I know thats probably illegal, but thats not my point). If they really wanted to make a point, they would have either stopped the clip or slowed it down to make the point of what changed. 
  • Reply 6 of 14
    I wonder about some of the construction and design aspects.  First, what is the purpose of the black/white rectangular blocks (foam?) that were visible early on and now appear to have been covered with a layer of dirt? If they were used just for a landscape material what is the lifespan?

    I'm hoping Apple allows someone to record a fly-through of the tunnels and the spaceship's interior as well as the view from within the inner garden space looking back towards the spaceship.

    The whole construction process and completed buildings are worth a feature film.
  • Reply 7 of 14
    ocmikemocmikem Posts: 7member
    I wonder about some of the construction and design aspects.  First, what is the purpose of the black/white rectangular blocks (foam?) that were visible early on and now appear to have been covered with a layer of dirt? If they were used just for a landscape material what is the lifespan?

    I'm hoping Apple allows someone to record a fly-through of the tunnels and the spaceship's interior as well as the view from within the inner garden space looking back towards the spaceship.

    The whole construction process and completed buildings are worth a feature film.
    I was wondering that also, so I looked it up. Its meant to be used over tunnels and underground structures, as it's 100% lighter than dirt. I found an infographic that explains it. http://blog.geofoam.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2014/11/maggiedaleyparkinfographic.jpg
  • Reply 8 of 14
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,879member
    There are no longer any cranes on the site for example, and the infamous "mountain of dirt" has completely disappeared.
    Not infamous.
  • Reply 9 of 14
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    There are no longer any cranes on the site for example, and the infamous "mountain of dirt" has completely disappeared.
    Not infamous.
    Well it was a very large topic of discussion when every video was released while it was present. 
  • Reply 10 of 14
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,879member
    macxpress said:
    There are no longer any cranes on the site for example, and the infamous "mountain of dirt" has completely disappeared.
    Not infamous.
    Well it was a very large topic of discussion when every video was released while it was present. 
    Still doesn't make it infamous -- "well known for some bad quality or deed". A pile of construction dirt is not tied to any bad quality, no matter how novel construction projects may be to techies on a rumor site.
    iqatedo
  • Reply 11 of 14
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    macxpress said:
    boredumb said:
    The operant word still being "gradual"...
    Good work takes time...especially on something of this scale. I don't think some realize how large of a project this is, nor do they realize the scale of the main building. I'd rather its done right the first time and not rush it. If everything isn't done until December of this year then it is what it is. Its not costing any one of us any money so why do we care?
    I've realized that from the start...
    Apparently neither Apple, which has made a number of unrealistic completion projections,
    nor those of you who repeatedly rejected skeptical responses to those projections, but do find new ways 
    of apologizing for them (nice job you've done here, btw) have wanted to see it that way.
  • Reply 12 of 14
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    boredumb said:
    macxpress said:
    boredumb said:
    The operant word still being "gradual"...
    Good work takes time...especially on something of this scale. I don't think some realize how large of a project this is, nor do they realize the scale of the main building. I'd rather its done right the first time and not rush it. If everything isn't done until December of this year then it is what it is. Its not costing any one of us any money so why do we care?
    I've realized that from the start...
    Apparently neither Apple, which has made a number of unrealistic completion projections,
    nor those of you who repeatedly rejected skeptical responses to those projections, but do find new ways 
    of apologizing for them (nice job you've done here, btw) have wanted to see it that way.
    I guess maybe they're relating it to the fact that Apple hasn't released anything big in a while and this is yet another project that continues to hang unfinished and is the reason why Apple isn't releasing anything. That being said, I don't think this is can be compared to what Apple is doing internally. This project has cost from what I've read about $6 Billion so far and its not like Apple is exactly struggling for money so its not like this money could have gone toward R&D and got some kind of new, or even updated product out quicker. Based off Apple earnings, they had Apple Park paid for years ago.

    I seriously doubt this is a distraction to Apple employees. I'm sure there are people internally working on designs and engineering for such things inside Apple Park, but its not like the entire company is working on this. Apple can work on more than one project at a time. Its done so many times in the past. 
  • Reply 13 of 14
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,879member
    boredumb said:
    macxpress said:
    boredumb said:
    The operant word still being "gradual"...
    Good work takes time...especially on something of this scale. I don't think some realize how large of a project this is, nor do they realize the scale of the main building. I'd rather its done right the first time and not rush it. If everything isn't done until December of this year then it is what it is. Its not costing any one of us any money so why do we care?
    I've realized that from the start...
    Apparently neither Apple, which has made a number of unrealistic completion projections,
    nor those of you who repeatedly rejected skeptical responses to those projections, but do find new ways 
    of apologizing for them (nice job you've done here, btw) have wanted to see it that way.
    I'm just gonna take a guess and say you haven't any real world connection to construction projects. There is nothing remarkable about a project being delayed or set back, especially one as enormous and unique as this one. You're just trying to take a common part of construction and apply it to your need to peddle a negative narrative about Apple. Sounds like a neurosis to me. 
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 14 of 14
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    I'm just gonna take a guess and say you haven't any real world connection to construction projects. There is nothing remarkable about a project being delayed or set back, especially one as enormous and unique as this one. You're just trying to take a common part of construction and apply it to your need to peddle a negative narrative about Apple. Sounds like a neurosis to me. 
    Poor guess...
    I'm simply pointing out that, at various stages, some of us, myself included,
    have said we didn't think that the projected completion dates could be met.
    Isn't that being realistic regarding the delays and/or setbacks which are, as you point out too, common and unremarkable?

    You're welcome to review my other comments, to see if you can actually cobble together an overall "negative narrative" about Apple.

    "Neurosis"?   :D  :D :D
    I'm just gonna take a guess and say that if you do have any real world connection to psychological diagnoses, it's tenuous, at best...

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