Campus 2, Apple Inc.'s proposed ring-shaped office facility in Cupertino, Calif., could cost $5 billion to build, according to a report by Bloomberg. Confidential souces told the publication that the budget has escalated since 2011, when a $3 billion price tag was predicted, and could reach more than $1,500/sf. The scale of the project has evolved over time; initally the building was only intended to accommodate 6,000 employees, vs. the current scope of 12,000 to 13,000.
Contributing to the high price is a design that calls for a façade incorporating 40-foot tall curved glass panes, imported from German firm Seele. The campus, created on land the company already owns, would be planted with 6,000 trees. In addition to the main building, the plan includes a corporate auditorium, fitness center, central plant, underground parking, and 300,000-sf research building.
The Building Team includes Foster + Partners as lead architect, and a joint venture of DPR Construction and Skanska USA Building as general contractor. A 2016 move-in date is projected, with demoliton of existing buildings on the site set to begin this summer.
Bloomberg quotes several shareholder sources who expressed trepidation about the cost of the project, in particular its innovative (and costly) use of curved glass. Apple execs say that Campus 2—part of the late Steve Jobs' dream for the company—will go forward. Apple will also continue to use its "Infinite Loop" headquarters, home to 2,800 employees.
The roof of the main building will hold 70,000 sf of solar panels, a key to the project's net-zero energy design. Other sustainable features will include high-efficiency fans, advanced daylighting, intensive plantings, and sustainable wood. Prefabricated, modular construction is anticipated as a key construction strategy.
(http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-04/apple-new-campus-cost-seen-jumping-to-5-billion-tech-correct-.html)
Related Stories
| Jul 19, 2012
BIM finally starting to pay off for AEC firms
In surveying Giants 300 firms about BIM, we went right for the jugular: Is BIM paying off—through cost savings, higher quality, or client satisfaction? Here’s what they told us.
| Jul 19, 2012
Contractors finally ‘moving off the bottom’
C and CM Agent + PM Giants 300 Firms also taking steps to improve project efficiency.
| Jul 19, 2012
The best states for a construction job
The top anticipated engineering and skilled labor shortages according to a survey of 2,223 construction industry professionals.
| Jul 19, 2012
Suffolk Construction launches subcontractor development series
Professional certificate program to provide core construction management skills to disadvantaged, minority, and women business enterprises.
| Jul 19, 2012
Construction begins on military centers to treat TBI and PTS
First two of several centers to be built in Fort Belvoir, Va. and Camp Lejeune, N.C.
| Jul 18, 2012
U.S. engineering firms set sail for foreign ports
Other E/EA Giants 300 firms are just dipping their toes into foreign waters, still looking for international business but choosing not to establish additional offices.
| Jul 18, 2012
Architecture giants spreading their wings
A/AE Giants 300 rankings reveal firms branching out globally, merging, adding services.
| Jul 18, 2012
Green expert Kats joins GreenWizard as an advisor
Kats' role is to help further expand GreenWizard’s impact in the sustainable construction industry.
| Jul 18, 2012
Construction employment stagnates in June
Lack of hiring in construction combined with job growth elsewhere threatens to create skilled-labor gap once contractors are ready to hire again.
| Jul 18, 2012
Legat & Kingscott relocates architecture/interior design office
Move enables the architecture/interior design firm to better serve its expanding clientele.
