The final pieces of Apple’s so-called “spaceship” campus are falling into place as the ambitious project moves rapidly toward completion.
A new drone flyover video shot in recent days shows off the Cupertino site in great detail, including everything from the main four-story donut-shaped structure to the auditorium lobby – now sporting the world’s largest carbon-fiber roof – to the sizable R&D facility where Jony and co. will be looking to develop the company’s next big profit generator.
The aerial footage, skillfully shot by Matthew Roberts using a DJI Phantom 3 Pro quadcopter, also gives us a close-up view of the almost-complete 100K-square-feet fitness center.
Related: See here for latest photography drones on the market
The shell of the main structure is nearly done, with just one small section needed to complete the ring. Meanwhile, engineers working on the roof are already fitting the first of thousands of solar panels that’ll power the campus when it opens for business later this year or early next.
Some of the office’s floor-to-ceiling windows are also in place, as well as canopies to shield workers from the California sun.
The two huge parking garages, also covered with solar panels, look to be close to completion, too. Roberts’ footage also shows a mountain of dirt on the site that’s “as tall as the main building.”
Looking at the big picture, it’s still very much a construction site, with trucks, giant cranes, and other paraphernalia of the building trade dotted about the location. Once the main building work is finished, grass, trees, and jogging paths will be put down around the grounds.
The campus will be Apple’s new headquarters and house around 14,000 of the company’s employees. Steve Jobs, who championed the project up until his death in 2011, worked with acclaimed British architect Norman Foster to develop the ambitious design.
