Apple is, by anyone’s standards, a rather secretive company that can give the CIA and NSA a run for their money. This makes sense, given the level of technology that the tech giant deals with. However, it can’t really do a whole lot about a drone flying high over its new Campus 2, which is currently under construction in Cupertino.
This drone video was posted by the YouTube account of Sexton Videography, and as Mashable notes, shows the structures are nearly complete, with most walls and solar panels in place. This gigantic flying saucer-like structure certainly has the appearance of the “City of Tomorrow” that none other than Walt Disney was interested in building.
Digital Trends provided an update to the vast 176 acre Campus 2 construction back in July. Some of the features of the beyond-state-of-the-art campus from British architect Norman Foster include 3,000 floor-to-ceiling glass panels, an underground 120,000 square foot auditorium, a 90,000-square-foot cafeteria, and a 100,000-square-foot fitness center. The whole structure takes up some 2.8 million square feet. So we’re talking tech on a rather large scale.
The entire effort has the feel of a James Bond villain’s lair or Stark Industries. Or perhaps the giant spaceship Electric Light Orchestra uses on their tours?
CNN says “The lucky (employees) will quickly be diverted into a discrete, futuristic tunnel, where a subterranean service road will give them access to a two-level, 2,000-space parking garage underneath the mothership itself.” We’re thinking Batcave on a huge scale.
CNN also quotes one of the Foster and Partners architects working on the project as saying Campus 2 is “one of the most environmentally sustainable projects on this scale anywhere in the world.” The idea is for the campus to run entirely on renewable energy, getting power from on-site fuel cells and “rooftop photovoltaic arrays.” That would be “solar panels” in plain language.
The facilities will make use of natural ventilation and radiant cooling, so “the spaceship won’t need air conditioning for some 70 percent of the year.” It does get pretty warm in Northern California, so maybe we’ll see some all-white Apple desk fans throughout the building.
When the $5 billion facility finally opens — no firm timeline set — Campus 2 will no doubt be a reflection of today’s Apple and its vision for the future as well as a testament to the formidable will and keen foresight of one Steven Paul Jobs.
