The inside of Apple’s forthcoming “spaceship” campus — now entering the final stages of construction — demonstrates typically Apple level of design perfectionism, according to a new report.
Apple’s demands for the project reportedly include rules that no vents or pipework be reflected in the massive glass windows which run around the campus. There are also copious details on the special wood used throughout the building, nitpicks about minimalist signage, and much, much more.
Around the time that Apple started construction, I wrote an editorial for Cult of Mac, in which I suggested that Apple’s attention to detail made this less a regular office and more the biggest Apple product in history.
It seems this assumption was correct, as according to architect German de la Torre, who worked on the project, Apple has been insistent that the design language for its products is reflected in the design of the HQ. For instance, the curve of the rounded corners borrows proportions from Apple’s devices, while the elevator buttons look like the (soon to disappear?) Home button of the iPhone.
Elsewhere, Apple’s in-house construction team apparently insisted on perfectly flat doorways so that that engineers don’t have to adjust their gait while entering a building, since this could distract them from their work.
The HQ also adopts signage which matches its “sleek, minimalist aesthetic” — something the Santa Clara County Fire Department’s retired deputy fire chief reportedly had to attend an estimated 15 meetings regarding. “I’ve never spent so much time on signage,” he said.
According to Reuters, the total cost of the facility is likely to come in at around $5 billion, with $1 billion+ being allocated for the interior of the main building alone.
And here we were expecting Apple to go for a run-of-the-mill office filled with drab white cubicles!
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
3 responses to “‘Spaceship’ campus showcases Apple’s obsessive levels of perfectionism”
By designing it to match current trends in the design aesthetics of their products I get the feeling this building will feel dated very quickly. Imagine if they had designed a building’s finishes from their transparent Mac days or the first iPod era.
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The entire building spinning like a clickwheel–awesome!