Apple's New Headquarters to be 'Spaceship Inspired'

With its iPads, iPhones and iPods selling off store shelves at a record pace, Cupertino-based Apple is getting bigger and bigger. It's the main reason company CEO Steve Jobs has proposed the building of a new headquarters, one that looks a lot like a docked space ship.

"Apple is growing like a weed," Jobs told Cupertino City Council in a recent meeting held last week.

Elaborating on that point, Jobs specifically mentioned space restrictions at the company's current home base, forcing it to rent additional buildings throughout the surrounding city. Of course, that's not a particularly convenient or even economical practice.

Curved Glass Design Gives 'Otherworldly' Feel

The answer, it seems is to brand a new Apple headquarters, one that will draw as many "ooohs" and "aaahs" as the average iProduct.

So, what does Jobs have in mind? A 150-acre campus built around a circular structure constructed mostly of curved glass. In the middle, Jobs hopes to build a heavily landscaped green area for his 12,000 employees. (Source: mercurynews.com)

In taking a look at the designs for such a building, it's hard not to think Jobs' ideas are -- how shall we put it -- "otherworldly".

"It's a little like a spaceship landing," Jobs said of the design.

Go-Ahead Likely From Supportive City Council

But it's not just the look which Apple hopes to make cutting-edge.

Jobs also said Apple plans to make it extremely environmentally friendly, using a natural-gas-fired energy base as the campus' main power source. By placing all parking undergrounds, Apple hopes to free up new space for thousands of trees on the site.

It's little surprise, then, that Cupertino City Council was blown away by Jobs' presentation.

"Now that we've seen your plans, the word 'spectacular' would be an understatement," said Councilman Orrin Mahoney. "And I think everyone is going to appreciate what clearly is going to be the most elegant headquarters -- at least in the U.S. -- that I've seen." (Source: chron.com)

With that kind of encouragement it's likely plans for Apple's 'Mother Ship' project will get the go-ahead. However, it's not yet clear when construction might begin.