First photos of enormous facade element for Apple's UFO

2014-07-08T19:53:00-04:00

Photos have emerged of what looks like the first facade piece for Apple's new mega HQ.

While civil engineering is now well underway at the site in Cupertino, California, the facade element was spotted thousands of miles away in the tiny Bavarian town of Gundelfingen. Josef Gartner GmbH, a Germany company specialized in steel-and-glass construction, had won the contract to deliver the facade elements for Apple's UFO, and it appears that the first prototype has now been put on display for presentation and testing.

Images show how the minimal curvature of the facade element foreshadows the colossal scale of the final, completed building with two of these elements eventually stacked on top of each other.

Completion of the Foster + Partners-designed headquarters is expected for 2016.

H/T and photos: ifun

Previously: "Confidential" architectural drawings of new Apple HQ leaked

Archinect - News

First photos of enormous facade element for Apple's UFO