Apple’s upcoming HQ is beginning to take shape

iSpaceship (Aerial photo, Ron Cervi 001)

After completing demolition of a site located along Cupertino’s Ridgeview Ct. where Apple is set to construct a 2.8 million square foot ring-shaped structure dubbed iSpaceship (officially called Campus 2), a new aerial image reveals that the upcoming corporate campus has started to take shape.

KCBS news and traffic reporter Ron Cervi was able to capture a photo from the air which shows that a large portion of the site has been demolished now, with the rubble completely cleared out…

The reporter tweeted out the above photo earlier this morning.
For the comparison’s sake, the following shot was taken three weeks ago.

iSpaceship (Aerial, Apple Toolbox 004)

The Cupertino City Council in November gave the project an unanimous approval. Work on the site began right away and by February 2014 most of the former Hewlett-Packard buildings have been demolished and cleared.

The main structure will feature an underground parking lot for about 2,400 cars and will be augmented by a 120,000 square foot auditorium for corporate events, a 100,000 square foot fitness center and more.

It will be surrounded by a cluster of apple trees, bike paths (more than a thousand bikes will be kept on the site) and roving footpaths, with Apple transplanting and replacing most of the approximately 3,710 trees at the site by indigenous foliage.

Apple Campus 2 (Rendering 001, Retina-optimized)

The company’s new home is set to open doors to 12,000 employees in 2016, barring any unforeseen circumstances and delays. Once complete, the structure will file as the most energy-efficient building of its kind.

Currently, Apple reaches 94 percent renewable energy usage across its corporate campuses and data centers and the firm’s Environment microsite hints that the new campus will be “a model of energy efficiency and green building design.”

Air flows freely between the inside and outside of the building, providing natural ventilation for 75 percent of the year. And sunlight powers one of the largest onsite corporate solar energy installations in the world.

The new campus is being built from the ground up to meet the highest environmental standards set by LEED, an internationally recognized green building rating system. When completed, Apple Campus 2 will be an ever‑present reminder of our commitment to sustainability and an example of what every corporate campus can be.

It’ll use 30 percent less energy than a typical R&D office building, Apple says, and will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy sources.