From dusty plot to green oasis, Apple Park receives the finishing touches

The first of 12,000 workers started moving into the main building in April 2017, while the 1,000-seat, subterranean Steve Jobs Theater, topped with what Apple claims is the largest carbon-fiber roof ever made, had its stage lights fired up for the first time in September 2017, for the launch of the iPhone X and iPhone 8 handsets.

Apple Park has certainly come a long way since its somewhat dusty beginnings back in 2014.

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Drone enthusiasts have been shooting video flyovers of the site from the very start, giving Apple fans and architecture enthusiasts the chance to see the remarkable “donut” design — as well as the entire 70-hectare location in Cupertino, California — gradually take shape.

The latest video, posted on Sunday, January 14 by Duncan Sinfield, shows that with the buildings completed, work is now focusing on landscaping the site, with thousands of native and drought-resistant trees turning much of the area into a green oasis for Apple employees to enjoy during their breaks. If they have the energy, they can also slip into some running gear and make use of the numerous jogging paths snaking through the site.

“The workspaces and parklands are designed to inspire our team as well as benefit the environment,” Apple boss Tim Cook said last year.

The “spaceship”

The centerpiece of Apple Park is the ring-shaped, 2.8 million-square-foot main building, “clad entirely in the world’s largest panels of curved glass,” according to the tech giant. The company says that power drawn from the main building’s solar panel roof makes it one of the most energy-efficient buildings on the planet, and helps the entire campus to run on renewable energy. The naturally ventilated building should also be able to go without heating and air conditioning for nine months of the year.

The huge project was the long-time ambition of company co-founder Steve Jobs, who drove the plan forward until his untimely death in 2011. Acclaimed U.K. architect Norman Foster presented the final design, with Tim Cook describing Apple Park as “the home of innovation for generations to come.”