Apple Park's Steve Jobs Theater includes rotating elevators, retracting demo room wall

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in General Discussion
When Apple hosts its "iPhone 8" event on Sept. 12, the media will be treated to elaborate features in the completed Steve Jobs Theater, such as a pair of custom rotating elevators and a clever way of ushering people into the product demonstration area.




The elevators spin as they rise or lower, meaning that people will always enter or exit them through the same door, Bloomberg said on Wednesday. Most buildings would use a less complex double-door system.

The theater reportedly occupies four underground stories, and will have a staircase spiraling alongside the walls. Its 1,000 seats are made of leather -- in March, an engineer claimed the building's budget meant that each seat cost the equivalent of $14,000.

Once the press event is over, an inside wall will retract to expose the product demonstration room where media can go hands-on, according to one Bloomberg source. At Apple's old Cupertino headquarters -- or at third-party venues, like the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco -- the company lacked much opportunity for a dramatic reveal.

The Steve Jobs Theater was just recently finished, lagging behind much of the rest of Apple Park. Indeed until Apple announced the details of the Sept. 12 event there were doubts that the building would be ready in time.

AppleInsider will provide live coverage from the theater, where Apple is expected to showcase the OLED-based "iPhone 8,", an LTE-equipped Apple Watch, and a new Apple TV with 4K and HDR.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 33
    It's damn beautiful. Spectacular, even. 
    edredlkruppiqatedo
  • Reply 2 of 33
    Very true, and you've got to assume that the structure, with all that glass, is earthquake resistant given it's location.
  • Reply 3 of 33
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    It's damn beautiful. Spectacular, even. 
    That's exactly what Steve Jobs meant when he said Microsoft had no taste...


    patchythepiratejony0StrangeDays
  • Reply 4 of 33
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    The spinning makes a lot of sense.  If you've ever been in a crowded elevator that uses the double door design you know what a chaotic situation can occur as everyone is facing the wrong way and disoriented not to mention Murphy's law dictates those needing to exit will be at the opposite side of the full elevator.  Bravo Apple.
  • Reply 5 of 33
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    Does anybody see the elevators in that picture?
  • Reply 6 of 33
    mac_128 said:
    Does anybody see the elevators in that picture?

    The glass cylinder on the left. Hard to see because, well, glass.
  • Reply 7 of 33
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    The Steve Jobs Theater was just recently finished, lagging behind much of the rest of Apple Park. Indeed until Apple announced the details of the Sept. 12 event there were doubts that the building would be ready in time.
    Doubts on the part of whom? The media who couldn't possibly know what's going on down below ground there? The tech media has more fake news than your fake president.
    edited September 2017 LukeCagemacky the mackyoseameStrangeDays
  • Reply 8 of 33
    I'm not sure if I'm following how the spinning elevator will work.  Does it mean I could ("could" in the imaginary sense that I'll ever be there) walk into the elevator and face the back wall.  Then, without me changing direction, as the elevator lowers the walls will move and once at the destination floor the door will be in front of me and I could just walk out?
  • Reply 9 of 33
    Roger_FingasRoger_Fingas Posts: 148member, editor
    ireland said:

    The Steve Jobs Theater was just recently finished, lagging behind much of the rest of Apple Park. Indeed until Apple announced the details of the Sept. 12 event there were doubts that the building would be ready in time.

    AppleInsider will provide live coverage from the theater, where Apple is expected to showcase the OLED-based "iPhone 8,", an LTE-equipped Apple Watch, and a new Apple TV with 4K and HDR.
    Doubts on the part of whom? The media who couldn't possibly know what's going on down below ground there? The tech media has more fake news than your fake president.
    Until recently, drone footage was showing construction equipment and supplies sitting right outside of the theater. http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/08/24/nearly-complete-apple-park-shown-off-in-latest-drone-footage
  • Reply 10 of 33
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    I'm not sure if I'm following how the spinning elevator will work.  Does it mean I could ("could" in the imaginary sense that I'll ever be there) walk into the elevator and face the back wall.  Then, without me changing direction, as the elevator lowers the walls will move and once at the destination floor the door will be in front of me and I could just walk out?
    They are cylinders, according to the plans, so I would've assumed it worked like the 5th Avenue store, but I don't recall that one rotating, and the mechanism looks like a hydraulic mechanism. Perhaps this one will be a screw mechanism.



    edited September 2017
  • Reply 11 of 33
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    ireland said:

    The Steve Jobs Theater was just recently finished, lagging behind much of the rest of Apple Park. Indeed until Apple announced the details of the Sept. 12 event there were doubts that the building would be ready in time.

    AppleInsider will provide live coverage from the theater, where Apple is expected to showcase the OLED-based "iPhone 8,", an LTE-equipped Apple Watch, and a new Apple TV with 4K and HDR.
    Doubts on the part of whom? The media who couldn't possibly know what's going on down below ground there? The tech media has more fake news than your fake president.
    Until recently, drone footage was showing construction equipment and supplies sitting right outside of the theater. http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/08/24/nearly-complete-apple-park-shown-off-in-latest-drone-footage
    Fair point, but one would have to admit in general tech news has a low bar. MacRumors notably will title a story any way it gets clicks.
  • Reply 12 of 33
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    The theater reportedly occupies four underground stories, and will have a staircase spiraling alongside the walls. Its 1,000 seats are made of leather -- in March, an engineer claimed the building's budget meant that each seat cost the equivalent of $14,000.
    The building looks spectacular, and I specially like the idea of a spiral staircase / walkway along the periphery of the whole thing. I find it hard to believe that each chair will cost 14 grand, however. It is not hard to design and build an expensive chair but for a thousand seat auditorium? Perhaps if the cost includes some extensive connectivity, but even then the price seems high. I would like to know how the engineer came to the price per seat based on the buildings budget.
    randominternetperson
  • Reply 13 of 33
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    ireland said:

    The Steve Jobs Theater was just recently finished, lagging behind much of the rest of Apple Park. Indeed until Apple announced the details of the Sept. 12 event there were doubts that the building would be ready in time.

    AppleInsider will provide live coverage from the theater, where Apple is expected to showcase the OLED-based "iPhone 8,", an LTE-equipped Apple Watch, and a new Apple TV with 4K and HDR.
    Doubts on the part of whom? The media who couldn't possibly know what's going on down below ground there? The tech media has more fake news than your fake president.
    Until recently, drone footage was showing construction equipment and supplies sitting right outside of the theater. http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/08/24/nearly-complete-apple-park-shown-off-in-latest-drone-footage
    While I would consider that "construction equipment" those are very simple lifts. Those could've been there so that inspections could be done inside and outside, or just to fit some bulbs or clean the ceiling, roof, and/or windows, none of which I'd consider "construction."

    The real work and biggest unknown has always been the insider of the theater itself. Even if we saw nothing above ground and they had planted foliage 6 months ago, we still wouldn't know what the auditorium, sound, or projector looks like.

    Maybe they had a special 16K/8640p/132.7Mpx projector for presentations so that iPhone images can look as good as possible for years to come, or maybe there was a delay with the auditorium seating because they wanted to use special kangaroo leather from the scrotums of adolescent male joeys who died of natural causes (which includes roadkill).
    edited September 2017 lolliver
  • Reply 14 of 33
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    ireland said:

    The Steve Jobs Theater was just recently finished, lagging behind much of the rest of Apple Park. Indeed until Apple announced the details of the Sept. 12 event there were doubts that the building would be ready in time.

    AppleInsider will provide live coverage from the theater, where Apple is expected to showcase the OLED-based "iPhone 8,", an LTE-equipped Apple Watch, and a new Apple TV with 4K and HDR.
    Doubts on the part of whom? The media who couldn't possibly know what's going on down below ground there? The tech media has more fake news than your fake president.
    Until recently, drone footage was showing construction equipment and supplies sitting right outside of the theater. http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/08/24/nearly-complete-apple-park-shown-off-in-latest-drone-footage
    When I had my house done, construction equipment stayed outside until trucks came to pick it up; that was about a week after the work was signed off and we moved back in. 
    SoliStrangeDayslolliver
  • Reply 15 of 33
    Call me Ishmael, but a single point of entry or exit is unsafe from an emergency perspective. If the theater were full and suddenly people needed to immediately exit, you don't want 1,000 people rushing for one exit.
  • Reply 16 of 33
    Soli said:
    I'm not sure if I'm following how the spinning elevator will work.  Does it mean I could ("could" in the imaginary sense that I'll ever be there) walk into the elevator and face the back wall.  Then, without me changing direction, as the elevator lowers the walls will move and once at the destination floor the door will be in front of me and I could just walk out?
    They are cylinders, according to the plans, so I would've assumed it worked like the 5th Avenue store, but I don't recall that one rotating, and the mechanism looks like a hydraulic mechanism. Perhaps this one will be a screw mechanism.



    Aren't you going to question whether they have the proper elevator permits for that? :wink: 
    Solirandominternetpersonpscooter63StrangeDays
  • Reply 17 of 33
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Soli said:
    I'm not sure if I'm following how the spinning elevator will work.  Does it mean I could ("could" in the imaginary sense that I'll ever be there) walk into the elevator and face the back wall.  Then, without me changing direction, as the elevator lowers the walls will move and once at the destination floor the door will be in front of me and I could just walk out?
    They are cylinders, according to the plans, so I would've assumed it worked like the 5th Avenue store, but I don't recall that one rotating, and the mechanism looks like a hydraulic mechanism. Perhaps this one will be a screw mechanism.
    Aren't you going to question whether they have the proper elevator permits for that? :wink: 
    LOL Speaking of, I'm pretty sure those have to be posted inside the elevator. That has to take away from having a beautiful glass structure to have some placard with some city document in it.

    PS: Isn't anyone going to bash me for posting images of the Steve Jobs Theater architectural drawings because it must mean I'm questioning the structural integrity of the design?

    edited September 2017 suddenly newtonlolliver
  • Reply 18 of 33
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Call me Ishmael, but a single point of entry or exit is unsafe from an emergency perspective. If the theater were full and suddenly people needed to immediately exit, you don't want 1,000 people rushing for one exit.
    What do you mean? There are at least 4 separate stairwells that lead to the surface that aren't inside the glass structure, and then at least ground-level tunnel that leads to the road from the auditorium, plus what could be two more stairwells just behind the stage, and of course the huge docking area that can fit tractor trailers.
    ericthehalfbeegregoriusmStrangeDayslolliver
  • Reply 19 of 33
    I remember back when I was working at a Fortune 500 company, where Apple flew several of us IT-types down to Los Angeles for the reveal of the very first Mac Portable along with the Mac IIci. I think it was at Universal Studios - some place with a large auditorium and lots of good eats afterwards.  I, for one, would love to see the new Steve Jobs Theater.
    pscooter63
  • Reply 20 of 33
    I wonder if it's big enough to demo -- and allow entry of -- a car (in 2020+), even if it's a manufacturing partner's car?

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