Latest Apple Park drone footage shows majority of construction complete

Posted:
in General Discussion
The latest drone footage of the Apple Park headquarters shows detail work in progress, and a view of the historic barn, prior to the opening of the facility to employees.




The latest footage, labeled June, but published on Tuesday shows a partially unclad Steve Jobs Theater, and a good overview of the entire site, including the parking garage, continued work on landscaping, and the research facility.

Also detailed is the historic barn on the campus, now in the midst of renovation and nearly ready for foot traffic.

As with footage from earlier in the month, Apple Park still has a long way to go before being fully complete. While Apple may be moving employees in shortly, they will have to contend with landscaping and finish work continuing for what appears to be months, if not a full year.





On Feb. 22, Apple officially named the "spaceship" campus under construction. The entire facility is now called "Apple Park," with the 20-foot tall and 165 foot in diameter glass auditorium honoring one of the founders of the company and named the "Steve Jobs Theater."

Before the massive construction effort started, the area was Hewlett Packard's land, and was essentially completely paved over. Apple's demand for trees is reportedly putting pressure on the local market, forcing contractors to source from outside California. The final tree count is expected to approach 9,000, with apple, apricot, cherry, and persimmon trees dotting the landscape.

An environmentally-friendly design was paramount to Jobs's vision, and Apple's related Phase 2 project adds additional workspace adjacent to the main headquarters, and includes a small data center powered by on-site the on-site solar farm, fuel cells, and other sources of renewable energy.

A new micro-grid installed on the campus is reportedly capable of delivering 17 megawatts of power from solar alone, and handling about 75 percent of the facility's power requirements. The solar installation is supplemented by Bloom Energy-provided fuel cells, similar to those installed at the North Carolina data center.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    Simply breath taking. I still think these videos should be done once every two months though I am sure they are making some monetary gain from the views.
    jbdragon
  • Reply 2 of 20
    Incredible footage, thanks for the update!
  • Reply 3 of 20
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Someone needs to clean off the solar panels...they're all dirty. Any volunteers?

    Still can't wait until this is completely finished and the landscaping is all grown in. This is going to look stunning!
    jbdragon
  • Reply 4 of 20
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    A company that actually deserves the success it has achieved. Sure, nothing lasts forever but Apple will be around for a long time. They make great products that people love to buy and use every day. Critics sputter on with nonsense. Haters drown in their own spittle.
    macxpressradarthekat
  • Reply 5 of 20
    I wonder what's so "historic" about that barn.
    superkloton
  • Reply 6 of 20
    llowejrllowejr Posts: 2member
    macxpress said:
    Someone needs to clean off the solar panels...they're all dirty. Any volunteers?

    Still can't wait until this is completely finished and the landscaping is all grown in. This is going to look stunning!
    Don't the solar panels need to be cleaned regularly to keep up efficiency?  That seems like it will be a ful time job there!!!
    jbdragon
  • Reply 7 of 20
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    I wonder what's so "historic" about that barn.
    A quick Internet search led me to several articles that explain it:

    http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/12/29/apple-to-keep-century-old-historic-barn-on-campus-2-grounds
    https://www.macrumors.com/2014/12/29/apple-campus-2-historic-barn/
    http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/12/26/apple-to-save-historic-barn-on-site-of-new-cupertino-campus

    Basically, it's a barn that has been on the property for a century. Steve wanted to keep it to pay tribute to the area's rich agricultural history.
    edited May 2017 patchythepirateStrangeDaysjony0
  • Reply 8 of 20
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    It really is going to look amazing when it's all finished. I do have to wonder about these drones flying over private property like this though. What does Apple think? What happens if something goes wrong with the drone and it goes done? Kind of hard to get it back. It is amazon how well these things take video. Something that used to only be done by a Helicopter now being done with a small drone remotely. In this case 4K. The distance you can control one of these things is, WOW. To bad SJ never got to see the finished results.
  • Reply 9 of 20
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    I don't know local law, but in many parts of the country, no one can move in until there's a certificate of occupancy and most places won't grant one until construction equipment is either completely off site or at least out of the spaces that are open to employees, including the paths that employees will take to and from garages and/or public transportation.

    I think we're at least a month away from any move-ins.   And I don't think the site will be "complete" until early 2018.   

    It will be very interesting to see if the designers were successful in avoiding traffic jams and in getting employees to and from their workplaces efficiently.   I think Apple employees are going to be doing a lot of walking -- that should keep them all in pretty good shape.
  • Reply 10 of 20
    ilovemomilovemom Posts: 25member
    From a dutch point of view.. This whole new Apple Park would be a great opportunity to introduce an advanced bike lane infrastructure to the new environment. I would love to bike there!
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 11 of 20
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    llowejr said:
    macxpress said:
    Someone needs to clean off the solar panels...they're all dirty. Any volunteers?

    Still can't wait until this is completely finished and the landscaping is all grown in. This is going to look stunning!
    Don't the solar panels need to be cleaned regularly to keep up efficiency?  That seems like it will be a ful time job there!!!
    Researchers at UC San Diego don't seem to think it is worth it.
    patchythepirate
  • Reply 12 of 20
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    jbdragon said:
    It really is going to look amazing when it's all finished. I do have to wonder about these drones flying over private property like this though. What does Apple think? What happens if something goes wrong with the drone and it goes done? Kind of hard to get it back. It is amazon how well these things take video. Something that used to only be done by a Helicopter now being done with a small drone remotely. In this case 4K. The distance you can control one of these things is, WOW. To bad SJ never got to see the finished results.
    For the 100,000th time...there is nothing wrong with flying the drone over this construction site. These videos have been coming for over 2yrs now. If it were an issue, they would have stopped a long time ago. Every month someone asks this question. You can play the "what if" game all day long. What if a bird shits on one of the workers causing them to fall...should we ban birds from flying over too?
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 13 of 20
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member

    zoetmb said:
    I don't know local law, but in many parts of the country, no one can move in until there's a certificate of occupancy and most places won't grant one until construction equipment is either completely off site or at least out of the spaces that are open to employees, including the paths that employees will take to and from garages and/or public transportation.

    I think we're at least a month away from any move-ins.   And I don't think the site will be "complete" until early 2018.   

    It will be very interesting to see if the designers were successful in avoiding traffic jams and in getting employees to and from their workplaces efficiently.   I think Apple employees are going to be doing a lot of walking -- that should keep them all in pretty good shape.

    Yeah I think thats the law in most areas with a certificate of occupancy. Maybe they've worked something out with the City of Cupertino/County? 

    We don't know the actual state of the internals of the main building so its hard to say when employees will actually be able to move in. 

    The traffic will be interesting, but its not like all 13,000 employees will be there at once and not all 13,000 employees drive in. Many take buses supplied by Apple, some ride their bikes in, others could actually just walk depending on where they live, and some may carpool. 

    I'm not saying you're thinking this, but I love the people who think that employees are going to be running around the entire building all day just to get somewhere, or to collaborate with others. Do you really think Apple and the architects didn't think about how the building would be laid out internally? Especially with a building of this size. Like they're really going to put one team on one end of the build and another that is working with them on the other end. Lets not be silly here. I'm pretty sure the internal layout is completely planned out. I bet most don't even know how people work inside of Apple so it might be a moot point to begin with. Not all companies run themselves the same internally. 
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 14 of 20
    Incredible. I just spent a good 30 min (of time I don't have) going over this video. I scour over these videos almost frame by frame. So interesting watching the design unfold and progress. I like that there are so many water features popping up, and mostly with a pseudo-organic shape.

    Also, it seems fairly obvious that Apple is setting up a certain area of the inner circle for presentations/beer bashes with the slope leading up to the Apple orchard (with literal apple trees) backdrop (the area of the inner circle closest to SJ Theater, looking out onto the central plain). It will make for pretty amazing photo ops (esp. taken from a similar vantage point to the video at 2:27, with the pond in the distance).

    I think it was a nice touch keeping the barn, not just for the historical context, but also by serving as a contrast/juxtaposition between our unsophisticated past (design wise) and the future, which Apple already operates in (design wise).

    I have no idea what that unfinished rectangular structure behind the fitness center could be.

    I wonder where visitor center parking will be? And nice touch having visitors walk by a berm so they can have a close-up appreciation for the sculpted topography of Apple Park.

    Also very interesting, the last structure being built (seen at the end of the video) does not seem like any of the other buildings at all. It's also not labeled on Apple Maps (like the other Tannu buildings are). However, it's unique structure is visible on Apple Maps. It looks more like a showroom than anything else. And with all that empty space surrounding it, makes for a very atypical location. Maybe.. an Apple Car showroom/demo area??
    edited May 2017 mike54superkloton
  • Reply 15 of 20
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    zoetmb said:
    I don't know local law, but in many parts of the country, no one can move in until there's a certificate of occupancy and most places won't grant one until construction equipment is either completely off site or at least out of the spaces that are open to employees, including the paths that employees will take to and from garages and/or public transportation.
    Not sure about commercial projects but for residential you need very few things to qualify for a CO. This is so people can get a mortgage before the work is actually complete because construction loans are so much more expensive than mortgages. Builders want to get off of them as soon as possible. Generally speaking you need to be water tight, electrical panel with outlet, be able to secure the property (windows and exterior doors), along with an entrance that complies with code, for example front steps need to be in. Wallboard installed in two rooms with smoke detectors which means you'll need an electrical rough in inspection certificate, also plumbing inspection if there is any plumbing in those rooms. If there is an attached garage, you'll need fire rated wallboard installed on the shared walls and ceilings, but you don't need a garage door. Decks and stairs need at least temporary handrails. You'll need a working refrigerator, a sink and a toilet and they don't even need to be in the designated rooms, just anywhere in the house. That's it. If you have any excavation occurring, say for a pool, it needs to be protected with appropriate barriers.
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 16 of 20
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    I wonder where visitor center parking will be? And nice touch having visitors walk by a berm so they can have a close-up appreciation for the sculpted topography of Apple Park.
    The visitor center is supposed to be at 10700 North Tantau Avenue. If you use Apple Maps today, you will see this:



    The shadows indicate that there are underground walls at this site, so the parking garage will be underground. Access will be from the north side (right below the striped crosswalk), you can see the current dirt ramp which will be removed once they pour concrete. The visitor center garage will be strictly isolated from the employee parking at Apple Park across the street.

    It's worth pointing out that the Apple Maps satellite imagery is quite old and the Google Maps imagery is even worse.

    Neither of the two maps shows the extent of the solar panel coverage on the main ring building which is visually complete in recent drone videography footage.

    If you compare the two mapping systems, it is easy to see that the Google Maps imagery is considerably older since one of the two multi-story parking garages on the south perimeter is lacking solar panels.  This also shows that Apple's construction contractors tore down a number of buildings on the west side of North Tantau Avenue and also ripped out the asphalt road leading to these buildings.
    edited May 2017 patchythepirate
  • Reply 17 of 20
    pembrokepembroke Posts: 230member
    Do they practice siestas in Cupertino? Where is everyone?
  • Reply 18 of 20
    Also very interesting, the last structure being built (seen at the end of the video) does not seem like any of the other buildings at all. It's also not labeled on Apple Maps (like the other Tannu buildings are). However, it's unique structure is visible on Apple Maps. It looks more like a showroom than anything else. And with all that empty space surrounding it, makes for a very atypical location. Maybe.. an Apple Car showroom/demo area??
    No I think that's just the entrance/security.
    patchythepirate
  • Reply 19 of 20
    mpantone said:
    I wonder where visitor center parking will be? And nice touch having visitors walk by a berm so they can have a close-up appreciation for the sculpted topography of Apple Park.
    The visitor center is supposed to be at 10700 North Tantau Avenue. If you use Apple Maps today, you will see this:



    The shadows indicate that there are underground walls at this site, so the parking garage will be underground. Access will be from the north side (right below the striped crosswalk), you can see the current dirt ramp which will be removed once they pour concrete. The visitor center garage will be strictly isolated from the employee parking at Apple Park across the street.

    It's worth pointing out that the Apple Maps satellite imagery is quite old and the Google Maps imagery is even worse.

    Neither of the two maps shows the extent of the solar panel coverage on the main ring building which is visually complete in recent drone videography footage.

    If you compare the two mapping systems, it is easy to see that the Google Maps imagery is considerably older since one of the two multi-story parking garages on the south perimeter is lacking solar panels.  This also shows that Apple's construction contractors tore down a number of buildings on the west side of North Tantau Avenue and also ripped out the asphalt road leading to these buildings.

    No I think that's just the entrance/security.
    Ah, I see now. I think I was mistaking what is probably a security kiosk (on the west side of Tantau) with the visitors center, which appears to actually be the 'strange' building I was referring to (on the east side of Tantau), which makes a lot of sense. Thank you for the clarifications.

    Edit: I reviewed some old layouts of Apple Park to see where I was off, and the small building to the left of Tantau is clearly labeled as a security kiosk. The area where presumably the visitor center will be (thanks mpantone) is labeled just as a parking structure (which was probably considered as a possible visitor center site at the time; if I remember correctly, Apple wasn't sure initially whether they were going to include a visitor center or not).
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 20 of 20
    llowejr said:
    macxpress said:
    Someone needs to clean off the solar panels...they're all dirty. Any volunteers?

    Still can't wait until this is completely finished and the landscaping is all grown in. This is going to look stunning!
    Don't the solar panels need to be cleaned regularly to keep up efficiency?  That seems like it will be a ful time job there!!!
    My home has solar panels and they are self-cleaning. I would be surprised if those on the roof here are not self cleaning, considering Apple's wealth.
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