back to article Top architect: The TRUTH about dead Steve Jobs' new spaceship Apple HQ

Apple's new spaceship-like fruit-loop-shaped headquarters in Cupertino wasn't originally planned to be circular, architect Norman Foster has revealed. His confession came in a video made by Apple to persuade the city to let it build its enormous Campus II. Now this video has hit the web: to watch Norman Foster, skip to the 3 …

COMMENTS

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  1. Chris G

    If you came here tonight in support of the project please stand up

    In the video 95% of the audience stood up right on cue.

    Afterward they were handed their new shiny iPhone,iPad and MacBook!

    Me cynical? Never!

    1. Robert Sneddon

      Re: If you came here tonight in support of the project please stand up

      That's a classic mob manipulation trick, the "stand up" call. To be sure of it working you can plant some ringers in the audience but a lot of people simply will follow the crowd in such situations. It takes determination to remain seated when nearly everyone around them is on their feet. The really neat thing about it is that the once the waverers are on their feet they will also go along with whatever snake-oil that's being sold afterwards. See also factory-gate strike meetings, religious revival meetings, Apple keynotes and the like.

      1. dssf

        Re: If you came here tonight in support of the project please stand up

        Except, maybe, at ball parks when a national anthem of a country is going....

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Angel

    And the building has a natural stone door!

    That rolls away when the iRessurection comes...

    1. dssf
      Joke

      Re: And the building has a natural stone door!

      What. Where? In the floor, like in Blade? With vampires and dogs champing at the bit(t) to bite ankles? Hehehehe.

      Watch for new patent: We claim on *large capuses having a large concentric building, surrounded by city dwellers in codos providing an array of soothing services (nail trimming, hair washing, therapeutic rubbing of various types), with massive gates around the main campus perimeter, all involving interlocking and interlocuting gates....

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I've never really given a toss what someone's office is like and I still don't. I don't care what someone's house is like.

    The most creative times are often when you're in a dingy little office or garage because you spend a lot of time working on things instead of having meetings or designing your dream office.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The most creative times are often when you're in a dingy little office or garage because you spend a lot of time working on things instead of having meetings or designing your dream office.

      So are you the ghost of Mr Hewlett or Mr Packard?

      1. MondoMan

        Not their names

        They preferred to go by "Bill and Dave". Their offices were nice but not super-fancy when I saw them as a summer student in the '80s.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Hehe...

      Well, the lab gheto is still in the corner of the plot out of sight of dream offices - it did not fit into the new "superbuilding".

  4. Oninoshiko
    Joke

    Well...

    California certainly has it's share of fruits!

    (seriously, these just write themselves)

  5. banjomike
    Stop

    That process continues today and will continue throughout the construction...

    ... Warning! Warning! that means the building will end up as a 30 storey monstrosity with no trees.

    1. Johan Bastiaansen

      Re: That process continues today and will continue throughout the construction...

      My thoughts exactly. Anybody who is doing any actual building on that project is sweating blood and tears while these morons pretend to be creative.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: That process continues today and will continue throughout the construction...

      "...30 storey monstrosity with no trees."

      But the Apple doesn't grow on trees, it grows on Chinese labor.

  6. Cliff

    Think of me as a team member

    ...a team member with control issues.

    You don't speak ill of clients, especially ones now deceased, but I bet some of those team meetings were somewhat irritating

  7. willi0000000

    reminds me

    i used to work in engineering for building construction and this looks like another "great architect," building a monument (to himself or the owner or...). typical compromise too, you need a tall building but there's height restrictions so you build it horizontally. now you have taken short elevator commutes to visit other departments and turned them into interminable hikes through seven other departments (you know that where you need to go will always be across the circle - and it will be raining).

    as for "new" and "exciting" construction methods - they often don't work. most building fittings (lights, pipes, desks, toilet fixtures, ...) are linear or rectangular and fit badly in curved spaces. the circle probably won't be big enough to compensate for the differential expansion and contraction with temperature and the roof will probably leak. also, ask the folks at the John Hancock building in Boston about new types of glass facades.

    all said, i wish them luck, they're going to need it.

    1. Dapprman

      Re: reminds me

      You forgot to add that many of Foster's buildings are badly flawed - main issue being leakage when it rains (including his university library building ....), and sun heat traps.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: reminds me

      "most building fittings (lights, pipes, desks, toilet fixtures, ...) are linear or rectangular and fit badly in curved spaces"

      As a designer of HVAC systems, curved buildings are one of my biggest hatreds... and I know that most of the building contractors I deal with feel the same way. It's a frivolous waste of time and resources for no benefit beyond 'it looks pretty'.

      The compromises you have to make to make things fit within any curved space will typically result in further compromises in the performance of the building in terms of both occupant comfort and energy consumption.

      A recti-linear building footprint is always more efficient in terms of construction, space utilisation and energy/environmental performance.

      Apple's philosophy has always seemed to emphasise efficiency in the design and operation of their products, but this building seems to go in completely the opposite direction!

  8. 4d3fect

    "Bring Cupertino back to California"

    Brought to you by your Department of Redundancy Department.

  9. Mpeler
    Coat

    Fruit Bowl

    "He still remembered [California] as the fruit bowl of America," Foster added.

    sounds like "California Granola—made up of a variety of fruits and nuts but mostly flakes..."

  10. Dave 126 Silver badge

    From Wired's 1997 opinion piece "101 ways to save Apple":

    28. Don't lose your sense of humor. Build a very large life preserver and display it in front of your Cupertino, California, headquarters.

    I don't know if people use the term 'life preserver' for a life jacket, or for one of those orange dough-nut shaped things on a rope that are stationed next to public waterways... if the latter, Wired was being very prescient!

    1. Martin Budden Silver badge

      For some reason a 'life preserver' is a life jacket, and a 'lifesaver' / 'lifebuoy' is one of those orange dough-nut shaped things.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    British designers

    Norman Foster designs the would-be Apple HQ. Jony Ive designs the iPhone. British designers rule!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: British designers

      "Norman Foster designs the would-be Apple HQ. Jony Ive designs the iPhone. British designers rule!"

      I'd be a little careful with statements like that, particularly in relation to Norman Foster.

      Two of his projects are mentioned in the article;

      The Millenium Bridge had to be closed shortly after being opened to correct an issue with resonance caused by large numbers of people walking across it... a bit of a design flaw in a bridge, I'd say!

      30 St Mary Axe, generally referred to as The Gherkin, has a shape which has frequently drawn comparison with various types of... erm... sex toys. I don't think we should dwell on the possible sources of design inspiration on that one!

  12. Mr Michael Strelitz
    Thumb Down

    "One of the most memorable things - and something that was perhaps vital to the project - was Steve saying 'don't think of me as a client, think of me as part of the team'.”

    Cotch

  13. Craig 28

    So he's gone from a phallic gerkin to... whatever the term for something that resembles a vagina is? Sounds like this guy has a fixation...

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