Apple's 'spaceship' Campus 2 to officially be known as Apple Park, 175-acre HQ to open in April

Employees at Apple's corporate headquarters will have a new home — Apple Park — starting in April, though the migration of more than 12,000 workers will take over six months to complete.

Apple's new home, formerly referred to as Campus 2, was given an official name by the company on Wednesday. The facility is not yet completed, as constructions of buildings and parklands will continue through the summer, but by April enough will be done to begin hosting employees for work.

Designed in collaboration with Foster + Partners, Apple Park replaces 5 million square feet of asphalt and concrete with grassy fields, along with over 9,000 drought-resistant, California-native trees.

There will be two miles of walking and running paths for employees, plus an orchard, meadow, and pond, all found within the inside of the massive ring.

It will also be powered by 100 percent renewable energy, featuring 17 megawatts of rooftop solar, making it one of the largest on-site solar energy installations in the world.

Apple said its new facility will also be the world's largest naturally ventilated building, projected to require no heating or air conditioning for nine months of the year.

The building will feature a visitors center with an Apple Store and a cafe open to the public. It will also be home to a 100,000-square-foot fitness center for employees, and a "secure research and development center."

Perhaps the centerpiece of it all, however, will be a theater named for company cofounder Steve Jobs. The 1,000-seat auditorium is situated atop a hill overlooking meadows and the main building, in honor of the company's former chief executive.

69 Comments

ireland 17435 comments · 18 Years

About 7 years ago

Knew it! Said it from day one the AC2 was a terrible name. Felt there had to be a name change coming before the ribbon ceremony. Most around here tried to argue with me that AC2 was a good name—the arguments were weak.

red oak 1104 comments · 13 Years

This is a major milestone. Congrats

And, I'm sure it has been a major distraction as well, trying to manage the business across tens of locations in Cupertino. I would expect the workflow of the company to improve dramatically over the next couple of years as they settle into their new home

wood1208 2930 comments · 10 Years

I thought, it would be called SJ Campus or SJ Park.or SJ Apple Park. May be Apple didn't want to be aggressive honoring Steve Jobs due to some might cry out loud. What people forget is Steve Jobs is one who brought back Apple to great from the near death situation.

techprod1gy 838 comments · 11 Years

Congratulations to Apple for not only making a truly inspiring building but doing it right as a world leader...100% renewable and intelligent design. Well done.

wood1208 said:

I thought, it would be called SJ Campus or SJ Park.or SJ Apple Park. May be Apple didn't want to be aggressive honoring Steve Jobs due to some might cry out loud. What people forget is Steve Jobs is one who brought back Apple to great from the near death situation.

I suspect it's because Steve didn't come up with the design the main building (Norman Foster did; Steve wanted a series of buildings for the main structure), unlike his input into the designing of Pixar's main building where he was involved in every detail. And it's Apple's campus, not Steve's. So Apple Park is more fitting. It's a simple name which is always a good thing.