Apple "Spaceship" Gets Approval to Land in Cupertino

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Cupertino City Council approved Apple's new Foster + Partners designed 2.8-million-square-foot headquarters, report Bruce Newman and Patrick May. "The City Council was so eager to formalize its deal with Apple that, upon realizing no one from the public was rising in resistance to the plan, the mayor blurted, 'OK, we can vote,' then quickly added, 'Oops.' With that, the clerk said the motion had passed unanimously, with Councilman Rod Sinks recusing himself, only to have to repeat the result when the council realized it had voted before officially proposing the ordinance."

Last week, Wired published 24 "all-new" renderings of the controversial campus that it dug out Cupertino’s municipal archive. "In the company’s own words, the new campus will offer 'a serene environment reflecting Apple’s brand values of innovation, ease of use and beauty,'” notes Kyle Vanhemert. "Despite the mothership’s sustainable credentials, though, the greenest part of the development isn’t even the building itself — it’s everything surrounding it. The renderings show something that hardly resembles a corporate campus it all. What it is, really, is a huge park."