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New Footage Provides Another Look at Apple's Spaceship Campus

Apple CEO Tim Cook previously boasted that the massive structure will be the greenest building on the planet.

 & Tom Brant Managing Editor

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New aerial video captured by a drone reveals a giant spaceship nearing completion at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

Unlike the space ambitions of other private companies, Apple's design won't actually fly. Instead, it's a massive office complex dreamed up by the company's former CEO Steve Jobs, and it has been under construction since 2013.

The new drone footage, uploaded to YouTube by Sexton Photography on Nov. 25, reveals details of the nearly finished buildings, including several open atriums as well as an underground garage and auditorium. As you'd expect for a Silicon Valley headquarters, there's also a massive employee fitness center separate from the main building.

The shape and exterior finishes of the main building — a perfect circle — are reminiscent of both the Death Star from Star Wars and the Pentagon. Apple has previously shared details of its spaceship campus, which will accommodate up to 14,000 employees. So other than offering a clear view of the nearly finished construction, the Sexton footage doesn't reveal any big surprises.

While the spaceship's architecture may be intimidating, the footage shows that Apple is making at least some efforts to tread lightly on nature, like solar panels that cover nearly the entire roof and few roads or other paved surfaces. But hiding the parking garage underground doesn't change the fact that many Apple employees will still find it easier to arrive at the massive suburban campus by driving on the Bay Area's congested roads and highways instead of using public transportation.

Apple CEO Tim Cook talked up the new campus's environmentally friendly features in 2014, including a plan to offer various transportation options.

"We're building a new facility that I think will be the greenest building on the planet," he said.

About Our Expert

Tom Brant

Tom Brant

Managing Editor

I’m a managing editor at PCMag.com focused on PC hardware. Reading this during the day? Then you've caught me testing gear and editing reviews of Wi-Fi routers, printers, laptops, and tons of other personal tech. (Reading this at night? Then I’m probably dreaming about all those cool products.) I’ve covered the consumer tech world as an editor, reporter, and analyst since 2015.

I've covered most major consumer tech events, including CES, Computex, Google I/O, and IFA. I've also appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news.

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rainforests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.

The Technology I Use

While most people buy a phone or laptop and stick with it for years, I’m lucky enough to use devices based on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows daily as part of my job. As a result, I cycle through lots of tech in addition to my IT-issue work laptop. (Yes, that's a ThinkPad.) Personally, I’ve also owned a lot of tech products both cutting-edge and cringeworthy, from the Nintendo GameCube and the original MacBook to the Palm m105 and the CueCat.

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