I, too, found myself watching the proceedings for longer than I should have. The design is elegant and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Ironically, the most amazing thing about the video is seeing a modern icon in such a quotidian scenario.
Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
41–50 of 221 posts
Re: Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have to ask - what is Microsoft style? Edit: Disclosure, I have been to Microsoft's campus, but I just couldn't help but ask this question. :)
Same as Google style I guess (though I think Microsoft buildings are quite uniform and almost all look the same)
I felt differently when I visited. If anything, they at least show a progression over the general phases of the campus. Buildings 1-9 are very similar, as are the triangle buildings 16-18. A lot of the newer buildings (ie the 'Studios') are almost exactly the same. There are a few other buildings on campus (late 20's or 3*?) that show a similar architecture to the studios. But then, there is 'Red West' which is its own little mini campus in terms of design.
The reason I asked was because I wanted to see Microsoft categorized in such an easy and quick manner as Google/Apple. I must admit that I myself can't do that.
Re: Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
#43When I saw the photos, I figured that the building's circumference would be so wide that curved glass would not just be unnecessary, but almost counter-productive, as it's difficult to curve glass without imperfections that might ruin its reflections. Surely we'd be talking about small fractions of a degree per pane. Can anyone estimate what the building circumference is, and therefore what amount of curve would be c…
Just looking at the proposed plans and comparing to Google Maps, I'd give a rough guestimate of 1100 ft for the building's diameter. So, that's about 3450 ft in circumference. That means a single degree of arc would cover about 960 ft. If each pane of glass were 10x48 and flat (as long as the building is tall), then they would form a 7200-sided polygon, and the angle between them would be 179.95 degrees, or a deflect…
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Re: Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
#44Apple style - one monolithic building designed down to the square foot. Google style - a motley assortment of buildings spread out over a large campus, some of which are better than others.
I have to ask - what is Microsoft style? Edit: Disclosure, I have been to Microsoft's campus, but I just couldn't help but ask this question. :)
Microsoft's Redmond campus is pleasant, collegial, and consists of nondescript corporate buildings of varying design connected by wooded pathways and large lawns. Actually a really nice place to work.
The campus has grown so much, however, that it has sprawled over several wide/ugly/pedestrian-unfriendly suburban roads in the process; there is substantially less greenery today than even a few years ago.
Re: Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
#45I don't know, I worked in a campus with a huge courtyard in the middle, though smaller than this, and it was mostly wasted unused space. I think it actually makes different parts of the company feel more isolated from each other because the other side of the building is so far way, the middle almost feels like an intimidating wilderness that you stay away from. If instead you have multiple smaller buildings connected by meandering paths it gives a campus a friendlier feeling.
Re: Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
#46Simply utopian.
Re: Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
#47I find it extremely interesting that they'll be using natural gas as their primary energy source for the campus and using the electrical grid as their backup. Is this really cost effective? Are many businesses doing this?
Isn't the electrical grid down there a bit undersized, and in need of improvement anyway? I'm in Vancouver, BC, so I don't know for sure, but I keep seeing news stories about rolling blackouts fairly often. If that's the case, then it seems to me that relying on something other than the grid would be a smart move.
The last time we had rolling blackouts was 10 years ago, 2001. They occurred on seven days. Enron played a role. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis for a reasonably good accounting.
Re: Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
#48I don't know, I worked in a campus with a huge courtyard in the middle, though smaller than this, and it was mostly wasted unused space. I think it actually makes different parts of the company feel more isolated from each other because the other side of the building is so far way, the middle almost feels like an intimidating wilderness that you stay away from. If instead you have multiple smaller buildings connected…
I suspect the middle courtyard will have a lot of features not shown in the design, including meandering pathways, benches and lawns for laptop jockeys, full wifi coverage, and maybe even an outdoor cafe (or two, or three).
It's the job of a landscape architect to create an environment that is both inviting for those walking outside, and serene for those looking out the window. Somehow I doubt they'll screw it up. (Even if they did, it's comparatively cheap to fix compared to bad architecture.)
With so many employees, I suspect it will be very well utilised, particularly on warm sunny days.
Re: Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
#49I work in a small office park located quite similarly on a grassy field locked entirely by some freeways and other large roads, though the buildings here are cheap and ugly, but even if they weren't, it'd still totally suck. It's isolated, not a part of the city, essentially, it's just a large parking lot (most of which is below the ground, but that doesn't really change anything).
It's quite disappointing. Maybe it's a marvel of architecture, but indeed it's a failure of urbanism (which, I believe, is much more important). It's 2011 and we're still building things while thinking in predefined square lots separated by roads? Such a shame.
Re: Steve Jobs Presents His Ideas For A New Apple Campus
#50The project looks like a literal approach to the walled garden idea.