Apple Park, also known as Apple Campus 2, is the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc., located in Cupertino, California, United States. The campus accommodates more than 12,000 employees, who began moving into the facility in April 2017 while construction was still underway. It replaced the Apple Infinite Loop campus as the company's corporate headquarters.
Designed by Norman Foster, the campus is centered on a four-story, circular office building set within a site. Its circular groundscraper design has led to the media nickname "the spaceship", while Apple employees have referred to it as "the ring". About 80 percent of the site consists of landscaped green space planted with drought-tolerant trees and vegetation native to the Cupertino area, and the central courtyard includes an artificial pond.
The campus includes the Steve Jobs Theater, Visitor Center, Developer Center, and Observatory - venues which have allowed Apple to host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference at Apple Park since 2022.
History In June 2011, Apple's then CEO Steve Jobs announced to the city council of Cupertino that Apple had acquired nine contiguous properties to build a second campus, the Apple Campus 2. The idea for a new headquarters was conceived by Jobs and Apple's then chief designer Jony Ive. Ive was Apple's immediate choice to design the project, going on to work very closely together with Norman Foster across five years, designing every detail, from the glass panels to the elevator buttons.
Purchases of the needed properties were made through the company Hines Interests, which in at least some cases did not disclose the fact that Apple was the ultimate buyer; Philip Mahoney, a partner with a local commercial real estate brokerage, noted that this is common practice in attempts to arrange the purchase of contiguous land made up of multiple parcels with separate owners, in order to keep costs from skyrocketing and not reveal the company's plans to competitors. Among the sellers of the properties were SummerHill Homes (a plot of ) and Hewlett-Packard (three buildings of their campus in Cupertino).
Until April 2008, Apple had not sought the necessary permits to begin construction, so it was estimated that the project would not be ready in 2010 as originally proposed; however, the buildings on the site were held by Apple for its operations. In November 2010 The Mercury News revealed that Apple had bought an additional no longer used by HP, just north across Pruneridge Ave. This space had been the HP campus in Cupertino before it was relocated to Palo Alto.
On June 7, 2011, Jobs presented to the Cupertino City Council the details of the architectural design of the new buildings and their surroundings. Afflicted with pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs resigned from Apple in August 2011 and died a few months later on October 5th. Jobs' proposal to the Cupertino City Council was his final public appearance before his death.
On October 15, 2013, the Cupertino City Council unanimously approved Apple's plans for the new campus after a six-hour debate. Shortly thereafter, demolition work began to prepare the site for construction.
Originally expected to break ground in 2013 and open in 2015, the project was delayed and started in 2014. On February 22, 2017, Apple announced that the official name of the campus would be "Apple Park", and the auditorium would be named the "Steve Jobs Theater".
The campus opened for workers in April 2017, despite continued construction work. This was followed by the first event in the Steve Jobs Theater, which took place on September 12, 2017. The Apple Park Visitor Center opened two months and five days later, on November 17, 2017.
As a consequence of the construction of Apple Park in the area, surrounding streets have seen increased tourism as well as rising real estate values, due to Apple employees' desire to live near their workplace.
Location Apple Park is located east of Apple's Infinite Loop campus, which previously served as the company's corporate headquarters. Apple has had a presence in Cupertino since 1977, which is why the company decided to build in the area rather than move to a cheaper, distant location. The campus is also next to a contaminated site under Superfund legislation with a groundwater plume found to contain trichloroethylene from improper disposal of industrial waste by semiconductor manufacturers.Hugh Biggar (June 7, 2006). The Cupertino Courier.
Design and construction Steve Jobs, in June 2011, in his final public appearance before his death, told the Cupertino City Council:
The main building is a circular, four-story structure above ground with two underground parking levels. It has a circumference of 4,805 feet (1,465 m) and a diameter of 1,512 feet (461 m). The building is divided into eight sections separated by nine atria, while open corridors run along both the inner and outer edges of each floor.
The campus places most roadways and parking underground, supplemented by two multistory parking garages. The building's exterior consists primarily of curved glass panels that provide views of both the central courtyard and the surrounding landscape. Approximately 83,000 square feet (7,700 m2) is dedicated to meeting and collaboration space. The center of the ring encloses a 30-acre (12 ha) park with an artificial pond, fruit trees, and walking paths inspired by California orchards.
During construction, Apple specified unusually tight manufacturing tolerances for many building components. Interior wood furnishings were made from a selected species of maple sourced specifically for the project, with materials and designs supplied by companies in 19 countries.
The building uses hollow precast concrete floor slabs that serve as structural floors and ceilings while also helping to retain the building's temperature. Approximately 4,300 slabs were installed, some weighing up to 60,000 pounds (27 t).
Construction
During construction, the building's structure was started by Skanska and DPR, but they were removed from the job for undisclosed reasons. Apple hired Rudolph and Sletten and Holder Construction as its new general contractors, and they completed the structure, envelope, and interior buildout. Truebeck Construction (then known as BNBTBuilders) worked on the exterior landscaping, Steve Jobs Theater, and the health and fitness center; a joint venture of BNBTBuilders and Webcor Builders worked on an adjacent group of research and development buildings; McCarthy Building Companies built the parking garage; and Granite Construction performed road widening and utility work. The project created approximately 13,000 full-time construction jobs.
The facade panes are produced by Bavarian companies Josef Gartner and Sedak. The latter company is a subsidiary of Seele GmbH; Apple had previously worked with Seele, an expert on glass facades, for some of its more prominent Apple Stores such as the one on 5th Avenue in New York City. David Nicholl and Partners delivered the M&E works.
Costs
The land cost was estimated at $160 million. In 2011, the budget for Apple Campus 2 was less than $3 billion. However, in 2013 the total cost was estimated to be closer to $5 billion.
Energy source The campus was announced as one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world, and the main building, Steve Jobs Theater, and fitness center are all LEED Platinum certified. In an April 2018 press release, Apple announced that it had switched to being powered entirely by renewable energy. The solar panels installed on the roof of the campus can generate 17 megawatts of power, sufficient to power 75% during peak daytime, and making it one of the largest solar roofs in the world. The other 4 megawatts are generated onsite using Bloom Energy Server fuel cells, which are powered by biofuel or natural gas. The air flows freely between the inside and outside of the building, providing natural ventilation and obviating the need for HVAC systems during nine months of the year.
Facilities Cafés The campus has seven Caffè Macs cafeterias, the largest of which is a three-level dining facility with seating for approximately 3,000 people. The building features light-colored stone, glass railings without visible metal supports, and landscaped outdoor terraces. Its 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) mezzanine accommodates approximately 600 additional seats. Like many areas across the building, it has tables made of solid Spessart white oak, measuring long and wide.
Auditorium
Wellness center A fitness center is located in the northwest of the campus. Apart from gym equipment, the fitness center features other amenities like changing rooms, showers, laundry services, and rooms for group sessions.
Research and development facility The research and development facilities feature two large buildings on the southern edge of the campus and are occupied by more than 2,000 people. The top floor of each building houses the department comprising industrial design and human interface teams.
Observatory The Apple Park Observatory, which opened in 2024, is a subterranean event and exhibition space located in a hillside south of the main building near the Steve Jobs Theater. Designed as an extension of the surrounding landscape, visitors enter via a curved path leading to a domed entrance hall topped by a circular oculus open to the sky. The main event space opens onto a large terrace through a portal-like opening that frames views of the Apple Park campus and the Santa Cruz Mountains beyond.
The Observatory is used for Apple product demonstrations and other events. It is constructed of natural stone, terrazzo, timber, and glass, matching the materials of the nearby Steve Jobs Theater and other Apple Park buildings. During construction, approximately 90 trees were temporarily removed and replanted after the building was completed.
Transportation Bus Employees traveling by bus will board and depart from the bus station, which leads to the main campus via two white staircases. The area is also served by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), which runs a local bus service from Cupertino to nearby cities. Transit consultant Jarrett Walker, who worked with the VTA on providing service to the campus, criticized the campus' design due to its poor access to public transit.
Parking Parking is located both underground and in two large parking structures accommodating approximately 14,200 employees. Cupertino regulations required a minimum of 11,000 parking spaces, 700 of which have electric vehicle charging stations.
There are 2,000 parking spaces in the subterranean parking garage. The parking is managed by sensors and apps, which manage the traffic and parking spaces.
Cycling There are 1,000 bikes on the campus for employees to get around, with miles of cycling and jogging trails all over the campus. There are an additional 2,000 bicycle parking spaces in the subterranean car parking garage.
Visitor Center
The Apple Park Visitor Center is a two-story, structure with four main areas: an Apple Store featuring Apple-branded merchandise not sold at regular stores, a public Caffè Macs, an exhibition space, and a roof terrace overlooking the campus. It opened to the public on November 17, 2017.
Construction was estimated to cost $80 million, with a further $26 million estimated for the underground parking structure; the building reportedly cost about $4,000 per square foot, more than double the roughly $1,500 per square foot cost of the overall Apple Park project.
The property, at 10600 North Tantau Avenue (northeast corner of Tantau and Pruneridge avenues), is across the road from the Apple Park campus proper and abuts a residential neighborhood.