Issues around the Apple campus

A proposal [architectural] backward, reminiscent of the Pentagon in 1943 as well as architecture firms in the suburbs in the years 1960/1970," the architecture critic of the Los Angeles Times, Christopher Hawthorne, looks tough enough on Campus 2, Apple unveiled the project in early June by Steve Jobs at Cupertino City Council.
As an anecdote, he was surprised the lack of questions from the board of the architect chosen for this project. While others would have boasted of having committed a celebrity - Norman Foster, in this case - Steve Jobs gave no name. Still the communication service from Apple does not answer this question. While the name of the agency Foster spread in full on the campus map published in mid-August (see New visit of the future Apple campus).Hawthorne is especially the contradiction between the stated desire of campuses "green" and dependence on the car that maintains its distance from the heart of the city. To support his claim, Hawthorne cites the work to be published by Louise Mozingo, a professor of architecture that speaks of a "pastoral capitalism" born in the postwar period. As companies prospered and grew to a global level, they were moving away from the city to take refuge under more discreet and bucolic suburbs. Turning back to the city, these companies "pull out of the urban space."To show that Apple follows a path traced by others, Christopher Hawthorne gives the example of the headquarters of pharmaceutical company Merck, built in 1990. No ring, but put a hex wilderness on the east coast of the United States.Geographical distance that prevents any possibility of creating areas of dense population and thus enable the creation and development of a public transport system, says the article.

    "Mozingo summarizes his point with a detailed critique of the mentality that this type of enterprise architecture seems to promote. "If all you see during your working day they are your colleagues, if all you see from your window is carefully maintained green perimeter of your property," she wrote, and you go and just your work in the cocoon of your private vehicle, "the notion of shared responsibility in the area of ​​transportation is, predictably, quite distant '" wrote the critic for the Los Angeles Times.This point the transport of Apple employees was discussed at a public meeting of the Cupertino City Council, told the San Jose Mercury News. A representative from Apple has come to present project details in terms of its environmental impact. At that time few people have expressed their concern that an increase in traffic.Some have suggested that a release "Apple" on the already congested Interstate 280, and others are upset about a possible influx of merely curious "We are also concerned about public access to what will be the Taj Mahal Cupertino, with people from around the world to visit. " The inconvenience and noise caused by three years of work required were discussed.

The presence of some 13,000 employees of Apple has raised questions about the parking spaces needed in the area, the space requirements for hotel guests and visitors of Apple, schools may have need be enlarged to accommodate the children of families from moving. "We may be in need of financial assistance from Apple," suggested one person.Conversely, others noted that the economic benefit for the city that can generate the project is well worth any inconvenience it may cause. If the various stages of presentation and validation are conducted as planned, the work of Campus 2 will start late 2012. And there is already talk of a Campus 3 ...