A Closer Look at Apple's Planned Spaceship-like Headquarters

14.08.2011
Apple watchers are getting a closer look at the company’s plans for a new spaceship-like headquarters.

The city of Cupertino, Calif., has released new images of what the complex will look like. The 2.8 million-square-foot four-story circular structure will resemble a spaceship more than a building with huge walls of glass that let workers look out from both sides of the ring onto park-like landscaping.

Dubbed , the headquarters will accommodate up to 13,000 employees and contain a 1,000-seat auditorium, 300,000 square feet of research facilities and underground parking.

By moving vehicles underground, 80 percent of the 150-acre property will be landscaped with 6,000 trees under the direction of a Stanford arborist who will help restore some of the indigenous plant life to the property, including . Apple also plans to build its own “” power source that will run mostly off the grid.

Groundbreaking for the new headquarters is planned for next year with completion scheduled for 2015. Architects Foster + Partners are working with ARUP North America and Kier & Wright, a local engineering firm that has worked on Apple’s current campus, reports .

Apple founder Steve Jobs, who to the Cupertino City Council in June, said Apple its existing headquarters building at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.