Construction at Apple's "Spaceship" Campus has been progressing at a rapid pace in the past few months, as the company most recently began putting up the outer walls and laying roadwork. Now, iFun.de (Google Translate) shares new photos of the steel and glass material that will be used for the campus' facade, which are being provided by German company Josef Gartner GmbH.

spaceship_facade_materials

Construction material for Apple's Spaceship Campus tested by Josef Gartner

The images show the steel and glass components being tested by Josef Gartner outside of its premises, and could hint at the scale of Apple's new Campus 2 building upon completion. The building will have a circular, multi-story structure surrounded by greenery, additional buildings, performance stages, a fountain, and more.

spaceship_facade_concept

A concept image of what the front of Apple's Spaceship Campus will look like

Apple's Campus 2 project will be constructed in two phases, with the first phase finishing up by 2016 and including a 2.8 million square-foot ring-shaped central building, an underground parking facility, a 100,000 square foot fitness center, and a 120,000 square foot auditorium. Meanwhile, the second phase of construction will take place after 2016 and include an additional 600,000 square feet of office, research and development buildings as well as an additional parking structure with 1,740 spaces.

Top Rated Comments

Davmeister Avatar
147 months ago
I shall now proceed to hand in my notice as a Doctor and apply to be a cleaner at Apple Campus 2.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mukow Avatar
147 months ago
Am I crazy for thinking that maybe Apple would want an on-site medical person or two for a campus this large?

Google does have medical offices on its Googleplex campus. I would be surprised if other large companies don't. The calculation is simple.

1. Minimize the time needed away from work for routine checkups.
2. Routine checkups presumably lead to better overall health, which also minimizes time away from work.

It's a win/win for the employer.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zab the Fab Avatar
147 months ago
... but Apple obviously think this investment is good for shareholder value or they would not do it.

You might recall the only time Tim Cook has shown anger in public, was when an analyst asked about the Solar Farms versus Stock Value. Tim Cook boiled as he attempted to keep calm, replying that he would suggest that anyone who felt Apple should not do the right thing, but only what the stock price wants, should GET OUT OF THE STOCK.

Unfortunately I have not seen any video of this leaked, but it was described quite vividly in the press.

I was amused, and proud, of the iBoss.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
krewger Avatar
147 months ago
"Hint at scale"? All the plans are published online for how big it's going to be. Should be called " First look at actual exterior materials as mockup".
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
147 months ago
I shall now proceed to hand in my notice as a Doctor and apply to be a cleaner at Apple Campus 2.
Am I crazy for thinking that maybe Apple would want an on-site medical person or two for a campus this large?

The building is designed to hold 12000 employees. Just basing this off of the ratio of nurses to students at my middle and high school, plus the university I went to, I'd imagine that Apple would want to have a team of 5-10 medical personal on campus.

Then again, I don't know if my employers have ever had medical personal onsite... but at the same time, I've never worked in a building that held more than ~300 employees.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SuperCachetes Avatar
147 months ago
In construction, this is what is referred to as a "mockup" wall. I believe MacRumors is familiar with that term...

Required of the contractor in the building specifications, its purpose is to demonstrate to the architect that the fit and finish of all components meets the design criteria, which in the case of this building are insane (1/32" tolerances, etc.). Good luck, guys.

In this case, because it's Apple (and Sir Norman), the priority might be fit-and-finish, but more importantly, mockups are commonly used for envelope testing and for observing detailing with respect to air/water infiltration, i.e. non-glamorous things like flashing and air barriers. Here they may also be looking at light control via the shading devices as well.


1/32" of an inch isn't really a big deal in construction these days. Tight tolerances are especially desirable with external walls to prevent them from looking wavy and shoddy.

You either aren't really "in construction" or must only work on museums. If it's the latter, I'm jealous.

I've designed buildings that cost $1,100 a square foot, and even then we only got down to 1/16". In typical commercial construction "these days," 1/8" is the norm for dimensioning, but 1/2" for joint and structural steel tolerances are more common. Furthermore, governing bodies and industry agencies allow much more than 1/32" tolerance (out of plumb, variation in dimension over 10' etc), precisely because it doesn't look wavy and shoddy up to that point.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...