Recently, Apple (News - Alert) made the news by going small, introducing the iPad Mini. But as we all know, the Cupertino company has a tendency to go all out with futuristic and sleek designs, which has led to an impressive market niche for the company.
This time, though, reaching for the stars may have been more than the company can handle, as its ultra-modern headquarters may not be completed until 2016.
The giant circular structure, initially scheduled for completion in 2014, will take longer to finish than expected. The designers of the complex, known as “Apple Campus 2,” have decided to make a few alterations to the initial design. These changes include new landscaping designs, a relocation of the 1,000-seat auditorium, and a new building that will contain utility equipment.
“They could conceivably break ground in 2013, but only if everything goes smoothly,” Cupertino’s city manager David Brandt told Bloomberg (News - Alert) News. “The project is running a little bit slow. “There’s nothing super-significant. I think they are just constantly trying to improve the project.”
The facility, which has been in the planning stages for more than two years, will sit on a 98-acre campus that will boast more than 6,000 trees. The circular structure will house more than four times the number of employees as the current headquarters, and will look, according to some, like a giant UFO.
Other amenities will include a fitness center, 300,000 square feet of research space and underground parking facilities. It has also been designed as an environmentally friendly facility, a nice, modern attitude for a building that will look quite futuristic, even when it does debut in the near future.