Apple’s massive new U.K. campus is a pop culture landmark

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Battersea
Apple's new London office will be based in this iconic location.
Photo: Alberto Pascual/Wikipedia CC

Apple’s circular “spaceship” campus in Cupertino isn’t the only fantastic new location where the company is setting up shop. The tech giant is opening an impressive new London headquarters at the iconic Battersea Power Station.

With its four gigantic chimneys, the complex should strike a chord with pop culture fans: The station is a true pop culture landmark most famously seen on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 album, Animals.

The visually striking power plant, which has stood derelict for 33 years, has made an astonishing impact on pop culture. It’s been seen in a wide variety of music videos and album artwork, and it’s served as a set for TV shows and movies as diverse as The Beatles’ Help! and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.

The 500,000-square-foot site represents one of the biggest single office deals in London, outside the City and Docklands area, in the past two decades. The industrial-chic location will occupy six floors, with the gigantic building restored to its former glory.

New life for Battersea Power Station

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Apple’s new London HQ will house 1,400 staffers in the complex, which consists of twin coal-fired power plants that were built in the 1930s and 1950s. Power production at Battersea Power Station ceased in 1983.

Apple’s move will consolidate the company’s London-based employees, currently working at eight different sites, in one location. The campus eventually will offer enough space for 3,000 employees, so Apple can expand hiring in the U.K. capital.

The HQ is set to open in 2021 and has been confirmed by Apple, which told U.K. newspaper the Evening Standard that the new London campus will be based in a “magnificent new development at one of the city’s best-known landmarks.”

“This is a great opportunity to have our entire team working and collaborating in one location while supporting the renovation of a neighborhood rich with history,” an Apple spokesperson added.

The U.K. recently made overtures welcoming Apple as a post-Brexit deal, offering to give the company an international headquarters away from meddling EU regulation.

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