Latest Apple Park drone video shows construction progressing past debut of Steve Jobs Theater

Never seizes to utterly impress. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be  Apple's top brass, or anyone at Apple for that matter, and walk / drive around that place. When I bought my house I was chuffed to bits, but this... [mind blown]..

The fanboys will probably attack me, but I think the cards are out on what it's going to be like to work there:  getting in and out, having to walk to get to a meeting on the other side of the building, etc.  As I measure it from Google Maps, the spaceship is about 1400' in diameter.   If you had a meeting 180 degrees directly across from you, that's more than a quarter mile (about 5 blocks) walking through the center.   If one takes the indoor route, it's 8/10 of a mile.   Where I last consulted, I didn't even like running up the circular staircase to the floor above, which was less than 20' from my cube.    But I guess all that walking will keep Apple employees in good physical shape.  

Jobs was quoted as saying that the building was designed with the intention of people randomly meeting up with each other to stimulate discussion and ideas, etc.   But I think the opposite could happen:  it's so far to walk anywhere that people could wind up mostly staying in their office/workstation area.   

There also seems to be high solid fencing on the adjoining roads.   Assuming that's permanent, for all the pride in Apple Park, they don't seem to want anyone to see it.

As striking as the spaceship is, one could argue that it's actually quite unfriendly in that it's completely isolated from its surroundings.   I understand Job's motivation to avoid just another boring suburban office park, but there's something to be said for offices that are mixed into the life of the city.   That's why we're seeing modern developments that combine housing, retail, schools, office space and parks.    I have to wonder how we'll view Apple Park ten years from now.  

I’m surprised to see the seemingly open entrance to the main building from N Tantum Road, seen at the very end of the video. I’m sure there’s lots of security, but the entrance is right there. 

It’s also interesting how much better the aerial view of Apple Park is on Google Maps than on Apple Maps - much more recent.

zoetmb said:

The fanboys will probably attack me, but I think the cards are out on what it's going to be like to work there:  getting in and out, having to walk to get to a meeting on the other side of the building, etc.  As I measure it from Google Maps, the spaceship is about 1400' in diameter.   If you had a meeting 180 degrees directly across from you, that's more than a quarter mile (about 5 blocks) walking through the center.   If one takes the indoor route, it's 8/10 of a mile.   Where I last consulted, I didn't even like running up the circular staircase to the floor above, which was less than 20' from my cube.    But I guess all that walking will keep Apple employees in good physical shape.  

Jobs was quoted as saying that the building was designed with the intention of people randomly meeting up with each other to stimulate discussion and ideas, etc.   But I think the opposite could happen:  it's so far to walk anywhere that people could wind up mostly staying in their office/workstation area.   

There also seems to be high solid fencing on the adjoining roads.   Assuming that's permanent, for all the pride in Apple Park, they don't seem to want anyone to see it.

As striking as the spaceship is, one could argue that it's actually quite unfriendly in that it's completely isolated from its surroundings.   I understand Job's motivation to avoid just another boring suburban office park, but there's something to be said for offices that are mixed into the life of the city.   That's why we're seeing modern developments that combine housing, retail, schools, office space and parks.    I have to wonder how we'll view Apple Park ten years from now.  

Anyone starting their post with "fanboy" is setting themselves for a kicking just for that word alone; just say your opinion and that's it.

No need for this extremely annoying word.

Going by what you said:

Most of those people were MUCH FARTHER APART BEFORE cause they were in dozens of buildings all over region.

You know, they had to drive to get to each other.

Anyone who has driven in this hellish area can tell you it is worse than a 5-10 minutes walk.

Man, why would people meet regularly with people at the other size, and not say 2 floor down, or inside 200-300 feet on the loop.

If walking 200-300 feet is killing you, maybe retire from work.

You think they've purposely put people that need to see each other regularly on each side of the building?

I worked in a large (but not that large building, in Freemont and the building was 350-400 feet wide). I barely ever saw people on the far side.

Payroll, RH, sales, marketing. 85% of my interactions were with people within 100 feet of my desk.

My mother's 71 and has rhumatoid arthritis for 35 years and walks about 2.3 mph 40 minutes a day despite a new knee and being overweight.

Even at that slow speed, walking across which would be a worse case, would take about 6 minutes (a few minutes more on each side to get up stairs).

I'm almost 50 and walk at about 3.5-4 mph (when I'm in a hurry), that means walking across takes about 4.-4.5 minutes.

This is a walk through greenery, sun, coffee shops, I'd actually look forward to that walk instead of taking the inside loop (except when its raining).

This is the worse case you can get. It almost never rains there (2-3 months a year and even in those months, only maybe 1/3 the time). So, cutting across can be done just about anytime

zoetmb said:

The fanboys will probably attack me, but I think the cards are out on what it's going to be like to work there:  getting in and out, having to walk to get to a meeting on the other side of the building, etc.  As I measure it from Google Maps, the spaceship is about 1400' in diameter.   If you had a meeting 180 degrees directly across from you, that's more than a quarter mile (about 5 blocks) walking through the center.   If one takes the indoor route, it's 8/10 of a mile.   Where I last consulted, I didn't even like running up the circular staircase to the floor above, which was less than 20' from my cube.    But I guess all that walking will keep Apple employees in good physical shape.  

Jobs was quoted as saying that the building was designed with the intention of people randomly meeting up with each other to stimulate discussion and ideas, etc.   But I think the opposite could happen:  it's so far to walk anywhere that people could wind up mostly staying in their office/workstation area.   

There also seems to be high solid fencing on the adjoining roads.   Assuming that's permanent, for all the pride in Apple Park, they don't seem to want anyone to see it.

As striking as the spaceship is, one could argue that it's actually quite unfriendly in that it's completely isolated from its surroundings.   I understand Job's motivation to avoid just another boring suburban office park, but there's something to be said for offices that are mixed into the life of the city.   That's why we're seeing modern developments that combine housing, retail, schools, office space and parks.    I have to wonder how we'll view Apple Park ten years from now.  

If such a walk is daunting I'd suggest getting out more, perhaps try getting a dog that requires walks. Myself, I've worked in downtown offices, such as Target corporate, and we had multiple buildings and often had to take a 10+ minute trek to another building & floor to meet with another division. Most of my immediate teams resided in the same area or floor in the same building.