Apple Park opens to employees in April

Apple will begin moving its 12,000 staff into the building in April, although construction will continue throughout the summer. It will be surrounded by 175 acres of grasslands and forest featuring 9,000 native and drought-resistant trees.

“Steve was exhilarated, and inspired, by the California landscape, by its light and its expansiveness. It was his favorite setting for thought. Apple Park captures his spirit uncannily well,” said Laurene Powell Jobs. “He would have flourished, as the people of Apple surely will, on this luminously designed campus.”

“Steve invested so much of his energy creating and supporting vital, creative environments. We have approached the design, engineering and making of our new campus with the same enthusiasm and design principles that characterize our products,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer.

“Connecting extraordinarily advanced buildings with rolling parkland creates a wonderfully open environment for people to create, collaborate and work together. We have been extremely fortunate to be able to work closely, over many years, with the remarkable architectural practice Foster + Partners.”

The Apple Park will also feature an building called the Steve Jobs Theatre which pays tribute to the firm’s legendary founder.

This building will contain a 1,000-seat auditorium within a 20-foot-tall glass cylinder, 165 feet in diameter, covered by a metallic carbon-fibre roof.

“Steve’s vision for Apple stretched far beyond his time with us. He intended Apple Park to be the home of innovation for generations to come,” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO.

“The workspaces and parklands are designed to inspire our team as well as benefit the environment. We’ve achieved one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world and the campus will run entirely on renewable energy.”