The Apple spaceship has landed! Jobs reveals new home for 12,000 employees

Jobs told councillors Apple was "growing like a weed" and that it needed to expand out from its present main offices, which holds roughly 2,600 employees. Other workers are in buildings throughout the city. "We've got almost 12,000 people in the area," said Jobs, who has been on medical leave from Apple. "So we're renting buildings, not very good buildings either, at an ever greater radius from our campus and we're putting people in those. It's clear that we need to build a new campus. " That spaceship campus will be on 150 acres. HP plans to move its Cupertino operations to its Palo Alto campus and will be there by next year. Jobs showed plans and drawings for a campus with a Hollywood space-age look. Apple's new home be a single four-story, circular building with landscaping in the centre. "It's a little like a spaceship landed,'' Jobs told the council. "There is not a single straight piece of glass in this building. I think we do have a shot at building the best office building in the world. I really do think architecture students will come here to see this, I think it can be that good." Most parking will be underground and 80 percent of the area will be landscaped. There are currently 3,700 trees on the property, a. The plan is to double the that and include apricot orchards, harking back to the good old days.. Jobs told the city Apple hopes to break ground next year and move in 2015. The present Infinite Loop campus will continue to be home to 2,600 Apple employees. The new building will have its own natural-gas-fired energy centre, an auditorium for major presentations, a research and development facility and a cafe. Councillors were delighted. "The word spectacular would be an understatement," said Councilman Orrin Mahoney. "Everybody is going to appreciate what clearly is going to be the most elegant headquarters at least in the U.S ."