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New $5 Billion Apple Headquarters Has a Glass Problem

Glass and Glazing

New $5 Billion Apple Headquarters Has a Glass Problem

The substantial use of glass on the interior of Apple Park has caused headaches for some employees, literally.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | March 5, 2018
Apple Headquarters Building - New $5 Billion Apple Headquarters Has a Glass Problem

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Apple Park, the $5 billion Apple headquarters building in Cupertino, Calif., is as futuristic an office as you are likely to find. In order to create a sleek, futuristic aesthetic for employees, the complex’s design incorporated an extensive amount of glass walls and partitions. While the glass helps to create an open, airy floor plan, there appears to be an unintended consequence to all of the transparent walls.

As CBS San Francisco reports, employees are having difficulty seeing the glass walls and, as a result, are running into them, often times injuring themselves. That’s right, while some new buildings such as U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota have had issues with their extensive use of glass proving harmful to bird populations, Apple’s new campus is proving just as difficult to navigate for its human employees.

On more than one occasion calls have been placed to 911 describing employees that are bleeding or disoriented after colliding with the partitions. The current solution for the deleterious walls has been to stick small white stickers on the glass panes to help make them more visible. Whether a more permanent solution will be found remains to be seen.

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