Apple’s new headquarters, dubbed either “Apple Park” or the spaceship, is ready for prime time. A few trees are still left to be planted, but overall, the main buildings are done, and the massive facility is ready for the world’s most valuable company to slide on in.
But a year ago, the site was barely more than a big pile of dirt with an empty donut sitting on top. Drone photographer Matthew Roberts has been faithfully documenting the building process for the last year, and this video shows just how quickly things move when you can pay your contractor a couple billion dollars.
Employees have actually started to move in to Apple Park already, and since April it’s started to be a working campus. Landscaping and construction are still ongoing, but the site should be fully done by fall, just in time for the iPhone 8 launch.
By the time everyone’s settled, the 175-acre site will be home to 12,000 employees. The main building — the bit that looks like a spaceship — is 2.8 million square feet, and the exterior cladding involves the world’s largest pieces of curved glass. There’s also a completely separate R&D facility, where Apple can lock away its engineers to stop all those iPhone leaks.
If the drone video has piqued your interest, the campus will be available to visit as a member of the general public. There will be an Apple Store and cafe on site, as well as a visitor center.
