New Apple Headquarters

[ida]

You have to consider what it’s like to work in a tech company. I’m a designer working in an office tower with amazing views, yet 99% of the time we keep the shades down because the view is distracting, and the sunlight glares up the computer monitors. The Apple employees might be too busy coding to even care what happens outside, and maybe even prefer an interior space in the middle as opposed to a space right next to the window.

Most of the tech HQs in Silicon Valley is the typical suburban office box with a massive parking lot in front. Most don’t even have landscaping at all besides the typical hedge slapped in front of the building.

Really though, what is presented is just about the architecture… Projects such as these, as much as I hate to say, is where architecture comes first, and landscape comes second. So I don’t expect them to figure out what the landscape will be exactly until later… the space around it is really for Apple to use to expand if they need to… they may need a new donut building on site in 5 years… maybe they will build a farm on the extra space… right now who knows… the concept for the landscape proposed is to be large and un-designed enough to adapt to future needs…

Student projects can be good too…

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

Thank you. That does make a lot of sense.

 

PS. Is that a photo of the Palouse as your avatar?

[nca]

I dont think so..I think the concept is a statement, so much so perhaps that if you added little donuts or spokes or whatever it would seem contrived. I just dont think thats what they had in mind and steve jobs never mentioned that in his presentation. I would also argue that planting trees as theyre proposed would be terribly wasteful if they planned to expand later.

 

I also doubt there is a purposeful priority of building over landscape..I bet the architects really do think they’re doing something awesome. Also, given how much jobs spoke about sustainability I would think that the design team would take things like pedestrian connectivity and stormwater into careful consideration.

 

I;m a designer who works in Aspen. You could probably imagine the views, but I get by OK.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

Is it a smart approach to sustainability to convert an existing office campus of 158 acres or whatever it is, into a contrived natural environment? Coud it be argued that keeping this site as an office park (or better yet, increasing its density) would keep undeveloped land from becoming developed around this community? Is there not a principle of sustainability that maximizes density within infrastructure?

How does this differ from sprawl? It is using far more land than is necessary and forcing other similar development to other sites, many of which may not already be developed.

If Walmart did this, would people  be screaming “foul” on the sustainability issue?

[nca]

It kind of reminds me of Le Corbusier’s vision for urban planning in the early part of the 20th century, which later morphed into the philosophical foundation for the design of housing projects and strip malls. You could say that this is a modern interpretation of corbusier’s vision of tall buildings in park-like settings.

 

 

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

I was exactly thinking of the man whose name we dare not speak, but dared not to speak it … especially when comparing it to a site likely revered by those practicing Fundamental Apple-ism.

 

I’m amused that Apple has huge profits selling items produced over seas just like Walmart.

Apple works very hard to keep their prices high on these Asian manufactured goods, yet everyone seems to love them. Walmart uses Asian produced goods to make products available to the masses for less money than anyone else and they are hated for it. You would think that the political left would love Walmart and hate Apple … very strange.

[nca]

Well, I think you’re comparing apple to oranges..or perhaps lemons so to speak 😉

 

Wal Mart makes it’s money wholesaling other people products and innovation..Apple is an ideas company essentially making money from innovation and design. I think the left and right equally liek apple for it’s seeming commitment to quality and innovation.

 

I am indifferent. I appreciate Apple and Steve Jobs for being forward thinking. I appreciate WalMart for what they provide and have provided the world, but I think philosophically they couldn’t be further apart.

 

WalMart in my view promotes capitalism ahead of ionnovation and public well-being. Apple promotes innovation and quality as a vehicle for capitalism. Somewhere along the line the acquisition of goods became more important than the quality of the goods themselves.

 

Thats pretty much where I stand. I think Apple thinks theyre doing the best design they can get and I appreciate that.

[Jason T. Radice]

Interesting take…I can see how you get the Corbusian influence. If it were indeed Corbusian, it would be a more standard design of towers with much higher density, and with a total lack of landscape. The new Apple complex is more along the lines of the standard US office campus idea. Shove a “acclaimed” architects building in the middle of green stuff and call it a day. If you look at the drawings I had previously posted, notice that the building’s circle is as large as it can possibly be, touching the development setback lines in numerous locations. This, like all other corporate campii is about separation and impressiveness, whereas Corbusier was theoretically about connection and efficiency (living machine). Corbusian ideals just did not work. I agree…just how Green is this place compared with repurposing an existing campus or office tower. They just ewant it because it is cool. I wonder if they can change the batteries or adjust the thermostat without having to taking it to an Apple Store?  Maybe they should take a gamble and wait for a new “Apple Headquarters 5” product announcement to show up before they buy this thing. It will likely have features you “just can’t live without”. And why is this building only available in white when the iPhone 8 is only available in black?

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

I can’t argue with or disagree with any of that, Nick.

[ida]

Good point. Now that I think about it, maybe it would be better if they built a downtown-like city within a city with rather than a big object on the ground. Architecture-wise, I kind of like it, but maybe the planning aspect of it isn’t as interesting as it should be… with that said, Apple isn’t a very innovative company either. They take ideas and make them better, but they don’t actually make something new. They also prevent their employees from speaking to the public about their products, they even prohibit their employees from creating blogs.

Right, this project could be better, but then again, a big object on the ground that is separate from the context fits well with Apple’s restrictive and secretive ways.

Not sure what my what my avatar is, I just grabbed whatever I could from my desktop 🙂

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

 I’ll respect your privacy.

[Alan Ray, RLA]

i thought it looks more like a hemorrhoid cushion…..

another ho-hum spec. office building in a circle…..

I do like the reforestation of the site and that they’re

keeping the jobs here instead of moving to china….

soon china will be making a cheap unlicensed knock-off of the

cushion building….

[Author]

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