Apple Campus 2

Behind the design of the circular headquarters of the computer company Apple stands the London office of Norman Foster. The building, with its diameter of nearly half a kilometer (492 m), surpasses the legendary Pentagon headquarters by 15 meters. In an effort to consolidate all its California employees into a single building, Apple acquired plots near its current headquarters in Cupertino, totaling over 700,000 m², where a four-story circular structure was built, offering over 260,000 m² of office space, 28,000 m² of laboratories, a fitness center, a lecture hall for 1,000 attendees, and its own power plant with solar panels on the roofs. Thanks to its own renewable resources, the campus is largely energy self-sufficient. Ninety percent of the asphalt surfaces have been removed from the site, and most parking spaces have been relocated underground. The number of trees and the area of greenery have significantly increased compared to the original state. At the explicit request of Steve Jobs, minimalist details, first-class materials, and an environmentally responsible approach were used, which naturally drove the budget to astronomical amounts. Despite the enormous size, the low profile of the building, human scale, and pleasant working environment were successfully maintained.