The new Apple Park Observatory sits seamlessly nestled into a hillside of the tech giant's renowned Cupertino campus. Unveiled this week, as part of Apple's series of September launches, including iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10, and AirPods, the site's latest addition 'provides a new venue to experience Apple Park and showcase Apple’s latest innovations,' the company explains.
Welcome to the Apple Park Observatory
The design features the natural stone, terrazzo and wood elements that make up much of the material identity of the wider campus and many of the Apple stores around the world – some of the most recent openings include one in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and another in London's Battersea Power Station (both designed by Foster + Partners). Foster + Partners worked on the building's early design concept, with Apple’s Global Architecture & Design team alongside Gensler developing it from there.
Open and flowing, the interior was crafted to be a flexible, multifunctional hall for special events and product launches. It sits in the heart of the wider site, next to the ring-shaped main building and Apple Park Visitor Centre, both by Foster + Partners.
The new building, like other Apple structures, uses sustainable architecture elements to ensure biodiversity and an eco-sensitive approach prevail. It was all designed to support Apple Park's aim to 'promote collaboration, communication, health, and wellbeing.'
The entire structure will run on 100 per cent renewable energy. Apple writes of its eco-friendly approach: 'Close to 90 existing trees from the site were temporarily relocated and brought back to preserve the old-growth meadow landscape. All plant species used in the project are drought tolerant, with low water usage, to align with the water-saving goals that Apple Park has set since its inception.'
-
New speakers for every space, from all-in-one systems to high-end towersExperience the highs and lows of your favourite audio in crisp detail with this selection of seven new speakers, large and small
-
Around London in sybaritic silence with the majestic all-electric Lunaz Phantom VClassic electrifier Lunaz has turned its skilled hands to the Rolls-Royce Phantom V. We sample the ultimate in zero-emission luxury on the streets of London
-
LG rolls out its ThinQ AI into a sleek new crew of connected home helpersThe age of thinking washing machines is well upon us, thanks to companies like LG and its ThinQ AI system, which harnesses artificial intelligence for better appliance integration
-
New York's iconic Breuer Building is now Sotheby's global headquarters. Here's a first lookHerzog & de Meuron implemented a ‘light touch’ in bringing this Manhattan landmark back to life
-
Louis Kahn, the modernist architect and the man behind the mythWe chart the life and work of Louis Kahn, one of the 20th century’s most prominent modernists and a revered professional; yet his personal life meant he was also an architectural enigma
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom Malibu beach pads to cosy cabins blanketed in snow, Wallpaper* has featured some incredible homes this month. We profile our favourites below
-
This refined Manhattan prewar strikes the perfect balance of classic and contemporaryFor her most recent project, New York architect Victoria Blau took on the ultimate client: her family
-
Inside a Malibu beach house with true star qualityBond movies and Brazilian modernism are the spur behind this Malibu beach house, infused by Studio Shamshiri with a laid-back glamour
-
An Arizona home allows multigenerational living with this unexpected materialIn a new Arizona home, architect Benjamin Hall exposes the inner beauty of the humble concrete block while taking advantage of changed zoning regulations to create a fit-for-purpose family dwelling
-
Michael Graves’ house in Princeton is the postmodernist gem you didn’t know you could visitThe Michael Graves house – the American postmodernist architect’s own New Jersey home – is possible to visit, but little known; we take a tour and explore its legacy
-
Explore Tom Kundig’s unusual houses, from studios on wheels to cabins slotted into bouldersThe American architect’s entire residential portfolio is the subject of a comprehensive new book, ‘Tom Kundig: Complete Houses’
