A Closer Look at Apple’s Planned Spaceship-like Headquarters

Apple watchers are getting a closer look at the company’s plans for a new spaceship-like headquarters.

The city of Cupertino, California has released new images of what the complex will look like. The 2.8 million-square-foot, four-story circular structure will resemble a spaceship more than a building with huge walls of glass that let workers look out from both sides of the ring onto park-like landscaping.

Dubbed Apple Campus 2, the headquarters will accommodate up to 13,000 employees and contain a 1000-seat auditorium, 300,000 square feet of research facilities and underground parking.

By moving vehicles underground, 80 percent of the 150-acre property will be landscaped with 6000 trees under the direction of a Stanford University arborist who will help restore some of the indigenous plant life to the property, including apricot orchards. Apple also plans to build its own “energy center” power source that will run mostly off the grid.

Groundbreaking for the new headquarters is planned for next year with completion scheduled for 2015. Architects Foster + Partners are working with ARUP North America and Kier & Wright, a local engineering firm that has worked on Apple’s current campus, reports International Business Times.

Apple founder Steve Jobs, who proposed the project to the Cupertino City Council in June, said Apple plans to keep its existing headquarters building at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.

Check out the Apple Campus 2 eye candy Cupertino offers on its website: Introduction, Site Plan and Landscaping (PDF), Floor Plans (PDF), and Renderings (PDF).