“Apple’s Campus 2 project continues to make strides with the latest drone video (below) showing the majority of the foundation completed on the massive structure,” Seth Weintraub reports for 9to5Mac.
Lats week, the City of Cupertino announced:
Motorists can expect traffic delays in the vicinity of the Apple Campus 2 site. Construction work hours are from 7 am to 7 pm weekdays and from 9 am to 6 pm weekends, with additional traffic restrictions (additional lane closures, etc.) occurring between the hours of 9 am and 4:30 pm weekdays.
The new campus, on a site totaling 175 acres, is planned to house up to 13,000 employees in one central four-storied circular building of approximately 2,800,000 square feet .
Direct link to video here.
I wonder how a massive complex such as Apple Campus 2 i.e. ‘spaceship’ is slated to be completed when 2015? And Steve Jobs went to Cupertino Town Hall meeting to discuss shortly before his passing three plus years ago. So we are looking at what four years construction time? Five? In my home town there is a ‘Shovel Ready Project’ from you know who’s stimulus package passed back in 2009. They were to move and modify an intersection and add extra lane. They are still at it!!! By the time they do finish, WWII and the Civil War would have taken less time. Talk about your job security. I wish someone could intelligently explain why… Note, I said ‘intelligent’…
I find that with public works the problem is usually with the coordination of different trade workers. You often see work sites sit idle for weeks because the people needed to complete the next phase of the work are busy on other projects. It’s just bad planning.
Or, if you’ve experienced Pennsylvania, there’s the criminal element messing up the works as well. Things have improved in recent years, sort of. But PA has been renowned for it’s worthless public works, the worst roads in the USA at one point. The usual story goes that the Mafia ran the show, and the Mafia is not know for their quality of workmanship.
Anything that changes a road or will significantly impact traffic while under construction will naturally take a lot time in planning and approvals. Still, it’s no excuse.
Roads, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure now take decades to seek input, plan, and secure approvals before construction even begins.
I simply don’t think we could “pivot” the way we did during WWII. We’re encumbered by process and no longer nimble.
True wartime against a roughly-equal nation or alliance naturally throws a lot of the worker and civil safeguards out the window.
Recall though that even in the middle of WWII the process was followed and US elections were held. That was the mark of a solid country and constitution at the time; a lesser one might’ve overridden elections on the basis of maintaining a stable, known government, but that way easily leads to power-hungry administration that keeps the country at war forever to stay in power.
Today of course the US has perpetual Wars on Whatever, but those are nowhere near the same thing.
NASA found this out during the shuttle program. They were getting so bearuocratic that they had trouble doing anything. that is why they founded USA, United Space Alliance. Lockheed, Raytheon, etc joined to form a company that launched the shuttle and coordinated everything. NASA leaders still ran the show but almost everyone was moved from civil service to commercial service.
the USA on the shuttle did not stand for “USA” but for United Space Alliance. Now they are called ULA for United Launch Alliance. All because commercial companies can move faster than the govt.
The images from the drone were truly amazing. Obviously not a very windy day (it has been very warm with low winds in the Bay Area this last week).
You can tell where the main structure will reside plus all the underground garage area surrounding it.
As for the completion date who knows. 2015 sounds too early but sometimes it is the foundation work that takes the longest.
Very true though when t looks pretty much complete from the outside it will still take a year to finish with all the invisible stuff that needs to be put in. So couple years yet I would say before it fully opens.
I hear that HP is going to supply all of the desktop hardware.
I could be mistaken.
The main difference between private and public development or reconstruction, is money is how much is available, how much can be raised, and how fast it takes to raise it.
Imagine for a moment if Apple had to go to its employees and ask them to take a pay reduction to build this donut.
Imagine for a moment if you were an architect, a construction company or a brick layer and someone wanted you to build their new house immediately but on a layaway plan, i.e, You’ll pay when and from the raise you’re expecting to get soon.
Unlike private companies, public planners only have the monies that taxes or lenders raise. That takes the co-operation of the home/business owners who are capable or willing to provide. And I don’t know of any one who is overtly willing to pay even one year of their taxes a year in advance, let alone all the monies needed for the job right now.
I think I’m seeing a vast, two story basement in the video, extending beyond the ring. Add that to the four stories above ground. That’s a lot of space! It would be great to have new drone videos every week, watching the foundation columns being put in, the floors added on top of each foundation level, walls, air systems, glass… I’m geeking out.
If that was a government building it’d stll be at the planning stage. Or maybe not even.
Well done Apple showing us how to get on with things.