Neighbors And Fans Are Curious About Apple's Massive New HQ
In Silicon Valley, the world's largest Apple product is taking shape — a glass and concrete ring wider than the Pentagon.
Apple is known for keeping tight control over its product development, and this new campus is no exception.
I got a rare tour of the headquarters site in Cupertino, Calif., and asked some neighbors, like Nana Zhong, what they think. Zhong sells health insurance in a strip mall across from the future Apple campus.
She's a Steve Jobs super fan — she has an iPhone, iPad and MacBook. She would love to know what's going on across the street. "We're curious because the gate is closed," Zhong says.
Whatever's going on in there is big, she says.
There's a lot of excitement around this site. A whole subculture of amateur drone videos on YouTube shows the Apple site from above.
Some videos are soundtracked to thumping techno music with captions like, "The fourth floor of the parking garage is almost complete."
Inside those gates is a very large construction site.
There are a thousand construction workers and 1.5 million tons of concrete.
At the center of it all is the outline of the new doughnut-shaped building, a mile in circumference — a deep circular groove in the ground.
A drone video captures the early January construction progress of Apple's second campus.
YouTubeI'm with Lisa Jackson, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who's now Apple's vice president of environmental initiatives.
The company's Vice President of Real Estate and Development Dan Whisenhunt is our tour guide. He's seen the drone videos, but he didn't sound enthusiastic.
"There's nothing wrong with sharing progress along the way, but if it were our preference, we'd like to share it in phases that are meaningful to us," Whisenhunt says.
In the currently not-meaningful category: how much all of this will cost.
Asked what the budget is for the project, Whisenhunt replies: "We have one!"
Whisenhunt and Jackson did want to talk about the campus' many green building features.
"You see this structure ... it will be four stories tall with a solar layer on top," Whisenhunt says. Those panels on the parking garages will nearly power the entire campus, he says.
And ultimately, about 80 percent of this place will be open space — rolling hills, walking paths, trees.
The new doughnut-shaped building will be a mile in circumference. "The office areas are laid out in little wedges all around the building," says Dan Whisenhunt, Apple's vice president of real estate and development.
Standing in front of a scale model near the site, Jackson says she's excited about the building. But what really jumps out at her are all those trees.
"You feel like you're looking at a park that has some 7,000 trees on this site, almost like a forest of our own," Jackson says.
Another neighbor curious about this future forest is Diane May, who grew up here, back when this area was all fruit orchards.
"The orchards are all gone," she says. "So, that's the way it goes."
Her house is the antithesis of an Apple product — three Chihuahuas, a granddaughter in diapers and May's elderly mother snoozing in front of the Food Network.
May asks, what's this new building going to look like?
"It looks like a big doughnut on the ground," I tell her. "So it's like a big circle with a hole out in the middle."
"And there'll be a nice little park there ... too?" she asks.
Well yes, but ...
Diane May grew up in the neighborhood where the new headquarters is nearing completion, back when the area was all fruit orchards.
Back at Apple, standing in front of that scale model of rolling hills, I ask Jackson, "How much of this space is public?"
At that point, Apple's media handler is waving her papers in the air, a gesture that says — stop talking now.
"I'm looking at all the trees and that open space there. Is that open to the community or is there a wall around it?" I ask.
"There's a fence around the site," Whisenhunt says.
Some critics have called the campus insular. They say there's more to sustainability than solar panels — that it's about engaging the community, too.
"This isn't an office building. This is an R&D facility," Jackson says. "Think of a national lab. Think of NASA. That's the level of work that's happening here."
The campus is scheduled to open in late 2016. It will have a visitor's center.
9(MDE1MTIxMDg0MDE0MDQ3NTY3MzkzMzY1NA001))
Transcript
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
In Silicon Valley, a different Apple product is taking shape - a glass and concrete ring wider than the Pentagon. The company is known for keeping tight control over its product development and this new campus is no exception. KQED reporter Amy Standen got a rare tour and asked some neighbors what they think.
NANA ZHONG: (Foreign language spoken).
AMY STANDEN, BYLINE: In a strip mall across the street from the future Apple campus, Nana Zhong is selling health insurance.
ZHONG: (Foreign language spoken).
STANDEN: Zhong is a Steve Jobs super fan - she has an iPhone, iPad, MacBook. She would love to know what's going on across the street.
ZHONG: We're curious 'cause the gate is closed.
STANDEN: Whatever is going on in there it's big, she says.
ZHONG: I don't know - is that miracle? Like, so big things will happen.
STANDEN: Like, it seems so big that miracles could happen there.
ZHONG: Yeah, yeah, I think so.
(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)
STANDEN: There's a lot of excitement around this site. This music you're hearing is the soundtrack for an amateur drone video. There's a whole subculture of these on YouTube that shows the Apple site from above, videos with thumping house music over captions like the fourth floor of the parking garage is almost complete.
Inside those gates, I'm here to tell you, is a very large construction site - a thousand construction workers, 1.5 million tons of concrete. And at the center of it all is a deep circular groove in the ground, the outline of the new donut-shaped building, a mile in circumference.
LISA JACKSON: This is the outer wall. If there...
STANDEN: That's Lisa Jackson, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who is now Apple's VP of environmental initiatives.
DAN WHISENHUT: The office areas are laid out in little wedges.
STANDEN: And Dan Whisenhut, VP of real estate and development, and our tour guide. He's seen the drone videos, but he didn't sound enthusiastic.
WHISENHUT: You know, there's nothing wrong with sharing progress along the way, but if it were our preference, we would like to share it in phases that are meaningful to us.
STANDEN: In the currently not-meaningful category, how much all of this will cost.
Budget for the whole thing.
WHISENHUT: We have one.
STANDEN: Whisenhut and Jackson did want to talk about the campus's many green building features.
WHISENHUT: You see this structure is - it'll be four stories tall with a solar layer on top.
STANDEN: Those panels on the parking garages will nearly power the entire campus, he says. And ultimately, about 80 percent of this place will be open space - rolling hills, walking paths, trees. Standing in front of a scale model near the site, Lisa Jackson said yeah, she's excited about the building. But what really jumps out at her are all those trees.
JACKSON: You feel like you're looking at a park that has some 7,000 trees on this site - almost like a forest of our own.
(SOUNDBITE OF KNOCKING ON DOOR)
DIANE MAY: Yeah, you want to come in?
STANDEN: Another neighbor curious about this future forest is Diane May.
MAY: M-A-Y, like the month of May.
STANDEN: May grew up here back when this area was all fruit orchards.
MAY: The orchards are all gone, so that's the way it goes.
STANDEN: Her living room is the antithesis of an Apple product.
MAY: (Laughter).
STANDEN: Three chihuahuas, a granddaughter in diapers...
MAY: It's OK.
STANDEN: ...And May's elderly mother snoozing in front of the Food Network.
MAY: I keep looking to see if she's breathing 'cause she's 92.
STANDEN: May asked me what's this new building going to look like?
It looks like a big donut on the ground. So it's like a big circle with a hole out in the middle.
MAY: Oh, that makes it (laughter). And there'll be a nice little park there or something, too, and...
STANDEN: Well, yes, but back at Apple, standing in front of that scale model of rolling hills, I asked Lisa Jackson...
How much of this space is public?
What you can't hear right now is Apple's media handler waving her papers in the air, a gesture that says stop talking now.
Oh, I'm just - I'm looking at, like, all the trees and that open space there. Is that open to the community or is there a wall around it?
WHISENHUT: There's a fence around the site.
STANDEN: OK.
Some critics have called this campus insular. They say there's more to sustainability than solar panels - that it's about engaging the community, too. Lisa Jackson's reply...
JACKSON: This isn't an office building. This is an R&D facility. Think of a national lab. Think of NASA. That's the level of work that's happening here.
STANDEN: The campus will have a visitor's center. It opens in late 2016. For NPR News, I'm Amy Standen in Cupertino, Calif. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad