It’s been years in the making and one of the last dreams of Steve Jobs before his passing in 2011, but the new Apple heaquarters—Apple Park—is finally set to open next month.
As one of the most future-forward buildings in existence, the ring-shaped headquarters is a modern marvel in sustainable architecture and operations, with solar panels covering nearly every surface of the rooftops of the main building, satellite buildings, and even the parking garage. Of course, with Apple being Apple, every last detail of the design of the structure has been carefully thought through—all the way down to the doorknobs.
From a Reuters report last month:
“Tolerances, the distance materials may deviate from desired measurements, were a particular focus. On many projects, the standard is 1/8 of an inch at best; Apple often demanded far less, even for hidden surfaces. The company’s keen design sense enhanced the project, but its expectations sometimes clashed with construction realities, a former architect said.
‘With phones, you can build to very, very minute tolerances,’ he said. ‘You would never design to that level of tolerance on a building. Your doors would jam.’
One of the most vexing features was the doorways, which Apple wanted to be perfectly flat, with no threshold. The construction team pushed back, but Apple held firm.”
While there’s still some cosmetic work to be done before the 2017 opening, there’s no doubt that Steve would be proud to see his vision finally come to life — as seen in this 4K drone video shot just days ago:
And for nostalgic purposes, here’s Steve giving his proposal for Apple Park to the Cupertino City Council six years ago:
