After spending $5bn on its new ‘spaceship’ HQ, it may come as no surprise that the Steve Jobs theater hidden underground inside ‘the ring’ has a few tricks up its sleeve.
The Theater will be used for the first time next week to unveil the next generation iPhone, in a special event on 12th September.
According to Bloomberg, the underground auditorium has everything from leather seats to a revolving elevator and even a secret demo area hidden behind a revolving wall.
The entrance of the Steve Jobs Theater: Attendees to Apple events will use this circular building inside the ‘Spaceship’ to access the theater hidden below.
The Steve Jobs Theater has four underground levels, and according to Apple’s blueprints, journalists and other visitors get to it by descending a staircase spiraling down alongside the walls after entering the circular entrance – the only part visible from above.
The theater also has two specially made rotating elevators, which turn as they ascend and descend so that passengers enter and exit by the same door – even though they go in and out from different directions.
However, the lower level attendees see before entering the auditorium also has a hidden surprise.
Once the event is over, a giant interior wall will retract to reveal a demo area where journalists will be able to try out the new products, Bloomberg claims.
Given the theater’s 1,000-person capacity, one engineer said back in March that the building’s budget meant each leather seat had cost Apple the equivalent of $14,000 apiece.
New photos shared online earlier this week show the underground portion of Apple’s new 1,000-seat Steve Jobs Theater for the first time.
While the upper part has been seen in other photos, this is the first look at the main part of the theater where the firm will unveil the new iPhone next week.
The photos show lower and upper sections that appear to have bleacher seating, natural wood finishes, and a large stage in the front.
New photos shared online show the underground portion of Apple’s new 1,000-seat Steve Jobs Theater for the first time. This image appears to have been taken from an upper level of seats and shows the large stage
While the photos were just discovered and shared by MacMagazine, a user originally uploaded them to Google Maps at the end of June.
It’s probable construction on the theater has come along a great deal since they photos were taken and that these aren’t the current conditions.
But while the final aesthetics aren’t shown, the images give a good idea of what the buzzed-about theater will look like spatially and set the scene for the launch even next Tuesday.
It is, however, possible to spot what appears to be natural wood finished that contrast the minimal design and 20-foot glass walls of the above ground lobby.
Additionally, Above Avalon founder Neil Cybart has shared diagrams of the new theater’s layout, noting it’s almost entirely underground.
He also inquired as to how Apple will handle the exhibit space, which it appears attendees may have to pass by to get to the auditorium.
The photos show lower and upper sections that appear to have bleacher seating, natural wood finishes, and a large stage in the front
.While the upper part has been seen in other photos, this is the first look at the main part of the theater where the firm will unveil the new iPhone next week. Multiple pictures show the seats, which appear to be bleacher-style
Apple usually keeps the exhibit space – where attendees can try out the new devices – off limits until after the presentation.
Last week, a behind-the-scenes look at Apple’s nearly-finished headquarters in Cupertino was revealed thanks to Snapchat.
The Steve Jobs Theater is situated on top of a hill — one of the highest points within Apple Park — overlooking meadows and the main building. Opening on September 12th, the entrance to the 1,000-seat auditorium is a 20-foot-tall glass cylinder, 165 feet in diameter, supporting a metallic carbon-fibre roof
Apple will unveil the new iPhone on this stage next week on September 12. While the buzzed-about Steve Jobs Theater is expected to be ready for the event, the rest of Apple’s $5 ‘spaceship’ campus in Cupertino, California is still under construction
Construction workers building the Apple Park have been posting photos and videos of the firm’s new $5 billion headquarters, including the Steve Jobs Theater where Apple will unveil the new iPhone during a special event on September 12.
They show the exterior of the spaceship, the sleek walls of the new theater, the ‘Apple Campus tunnel,’ and several areas still under heavy construction.
Above Avalon founder Neil Cybart has shared diagrams of the new theater’s layout, noting it’s almost entirely underground
He also inquired as to how Apple will handle the exhibit space, which it appears attendees may have to pass by to get to the auditorium. Apple usually keeps the exhibit space – where attendees can try out the new devices – off limits until after the presentation
While the videos are not showing up on the Snapchat map, they can be found by typing ‘Apple Park’ into the Stories search feature.
The stories all appear to be coming from construction workers, who are pictured in some of the videos taking breaks and using construction equipment.
A behind-the-scenes look at Apple’s nearly-finished headquarters in Cupertino has been revealed thanks to Snapchat. Construction workers have posted photos and videos of sleek walls on the interior as well as the exterior of the 2.8 million-square-foot office
The first video offers a look at the new 1,000-seat glass auditorium honoring Apple founder Steve Jobs, which measures 20 feet tall and 165 feet in diameter.
The theater is expected to open for the first time on September 12th for the launch of the iPhone 8 as well as the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, a new version of the Apple Watch and a new 4K Apple TV.
In subsequent videos, both interior and exterior walls of the 360-degree curved glass office building, which has been nicknamed ‘spaceship, can be seen.
Trees and foliage can also be seen in the background of some of the videos, lending to the idea that the landscaping is almost complete.
It’s expected the final tree count will be around 9,000 and will include apple, apricot, and cherry trees.
Other shots show Apple signs, stairs, parking lots, and a modern-looking tunnel captioned ‘Apple Campus tunnel’ by one of the construction workers.
Several of the videos show heavy machinery and the construction workers operating various types of equipment.
The 2.8 million-square-foot ‘Apple Park’ campus was originally commissioned by the late Steve Jobs in 2009.
Jobs called it ‘the best office building in the world’ and the current Apple CEO, Tim Cook, now refers to it as a ‘gift’ to the future of Apple employees.
Estimated to cost a staggering $5 billion, the campus was built on a massive 175 acres.
The finished product will span 2.8 million square feet and house 13,000 Apple techies.
Inside the circular building, each floor will be lined with fins called ‘canopies,’ which will be equipped with specially designed vents on the underside that will allow the Ring to ‘inhale’ air and breathe.
The footage includes a look at the Steve Jobs Theater – where Apple will unveil the new iPhone at during a special event on September 12 – and the signs on the campus.
It is a stunning scene – the sun setting over what Steve Jobs had called ‘the best office building in the world.’ The video shows parts of the spaceship lighting up as the sun starts to go down and although the main building looks near complete, the landscape suggests otherwise
Shafts placed elsewhere will allow it to exhale warm air to the outside.
It will be mostly self-sufficient with a ‘mini forest’ of thousands of drought-resistant trees planted in the surrounding area as well as a new micro-grid capable of delivering 17 megawatts of solar power and handling about 75 percent of the facility’s power requirements.
In total, it will have 805,000-square-feet of solar paneling.
The campus will also have a 100,000 square-foot Fitness and Wellness Center – and, this will contain a two-story yoga room built from distressed stone from ‘the right quarry in Kansas,’ to mimic the stone at Jobs’ favorite Yosemite hotel.
The building will have a massive four-story atrium as its café, with four-story glass doors that will open up on nice days so employees can eat outside.
The building will be home to scores of glass-encased ‘pods’ designed for the many different activities that will take place within its walls, from work and collaboration to socializing, according to Wired.
Apple began developing the project in 2014 and has since been working around the clock to finish the campus, which opened to employees in April – although the entire space is not yet complete.
Timelapse videos have shown a birds’ eye view of the construction of the site from 2015 to 2017.
The video begins with the ‘spaceship’ in the center of Apple Park standing as gray, lifeless pieces.
As time goes by, it begins the take shape – the gaps are filled in to make the iconic circle.
The surrounding area also progresses during the timelapse, as viewers can see the Steve Jobs Theater and wellness center rise from the dirt.
And surrounding artificial hills and mini-forests also begin to sprout up.
Although the campus is not yet fully completed, Apple has not shied away from boasting about the wonders that it will soon be home to.
A drone video released in May also shows stunning footage of the developing headquarters as well.
Duncan Sinfield, a YouTuber and independent drone pilot, shared the 4 minute and 41 second video of the progress.
The video shows parts of the spaceship lighting up as the sun starts to go down and although the main building looks near complete, the landscape suggests otherwise.
Parts of the campus still looks very much like a construction zone- there are mounds of dirt and empty space that should be filled with lush vegetation.
This image is an artist’s impression of what the Apple Campus will look like from above when its complete. The site will be surrounded by a man-made forest featuring 9,000 trees
Not all of the parking spaces will be hidden. The parts of the multi-storey car park that will be on show, according to this image from Apple, will be covered in plants and greenery to help the concrete structure blend in
During his initial proposals,Jobs said he wanted the building to be covered in 40ft floor-to-ceiling panes of curved glass so that all of the building’s four storeys would be visible from the outside and offer a large amount of natural light
More than $1 billion was allocated for the interior of the main building alone, according to a former construction manager.
The campus is something of an exception to the trend of radically open offices aimed at fostering collaboration, said Louise Mozingo, a professor and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at University of California, Berkeley.
Its central office building – a massive ring of glass frequently likened to a spaceship – could be a challenge just to navigate, she noted.
‘It’s not about maximizing the productivity of the office space, it’s about creating a symbolic center for this global company,’ she said. ‘They are creating an icon.’