Apple’s upcoming doughnut-shaped flying saucer of a headquarters is steadily taking shape in Cupertino, California. The Norman Foster–designed, $5 billion complex obviously strays from the typical office park setup of clusters of boxy, generic buildings, but despite its starchitect design, it has attracted plenty of criticism for how little it engages with the community and the non-Apple employees who walk among us.
But apparently that’s not the whole story. The Silicon Business Journal went digging through city documents and uncovered plans for a visitor’s center at the headquarters which includes a viewing platform where civilians can look out on the campus and imagine what’s happening inside the curved walls. (Hopefully it includes boosting iPhone battery life.)
“The plans show a super-modern glass-walled structure topped by a carbon-fiber roof with extended eaves, punctuated by large skylights,” reported the site. “On the ground floor: A 2,386-square-foot cafe and 10,114-square-foot store ‘which allows visitors to view and purchase the newest Apple products.’ Stairs and elevators take visitors to the roof level, about 23 feet up.”
The campus is expected to be completed in late 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB6_XkUFpAc
