Apple Campus 2: The Compound of Corporate Compounds

            On October 16, 2013, demolition and construction of the new headquarters “Apple Campus 2” for tech giant Apple Inc. were fully approved by the Cupertino City Council. The new “campus” will be 1 mile east of the current headquarters in Cupertino and will coexist on a conglomerate of 9 separately purchased properties. Apple plans to build a unified circular office building 1 mile in circumference and 2.82 million sq ft. To put this in perspective, on the ground the building will take up more land than the Pentagon.

            To make way for the colossal structure, Apple has demolished the preexisting office buildings totaling 2.6 million sq ft that were formerly owned by HP and Summerhill Homes. Many of the demolished research and development buildings would be considered Class A office space, but within months Apple scrapped them for what will truly be a master planned headquarters built from a clean slate. The construction of the compound is estimated to take 3-4 years and cost up to $5 billion, which is almost unheard of in the construction industry for a private company.

            The massive circular headquarters will encompass the center of the property and will include offices, research and development, a 1,00 seat corporate auditorium, cafeteria, and a corporate fitness center. Parking structures and ancillary buildings including security, landscaping, and maintenance will be located on the exterior bounds of the property. The primary consideration in the layout was security, as Apple has had heightened concerns with keeping new products and software’s classified from the public and competitors until they are released.

            That being said, the Apple Campus 2 has been built and designed in the most difficult, drawn out, and expensive way possible. The central headquarters building dominating the property will need curved glass and materials which will rack up massive construction costs as well as curved and bents lines seen in very few other buildings. The size and scope of the building would also make it impossible for Apple to ever sell the property, as it is to large and undividable for smaller private firms, making this a risk endeavor. Furthermore, 6,200 trees will be planted and native grasses will be used within the courtyard and exterior grounds of the building to create dramatic views amongst the open space. All of these factors making expenses almost triple what they should be and no exit plan if Apple were to default on the project.

            However, upon its completion, the grandeur of Apple headquarters will be difficult to surpass for some time. Perhaps its greatest attribute is it’s mixing of contemporary and bold architecture amongst hundreds of acres of manufactured forestry and brush. In the end, Apple will actually be increasing the ratio of greenery, which will cover approximately 80% of the land. While the new headquarters might be seen as a symbol of Apple’s dominance, it is arguably revolutionary towards real estate development in general. Upon its completion, much of the property on the outskirts will be accessible to the public, employees will have large common areas to interact, and the architecture and layout of the compound will represent an attraction for the city. At the end of the day, Apple Campus 2 will most likely represent a development that will give more than it takes.

TSA Contraband Inspections

                Several weeks ago I wrote about the Department of Public Safety at the University of Southern California in regards to their inefficient use of time barking orders at students and faculty, TSA seems to be cut from the same cloth. However, while The Hapless Blogger wasn’t able to get past the use of “Gestapo,” perhaps the use of another agency with a less offensive title will be more sensitive towards his tastes.

             One of the first memories that comes to mind when I think of the TSA was when I was going through LAX security at the age of 12. I removed my jacket and shoes, and placed my bag into the dark box-like cave on the conveyor belt. As I passed through the metal detector, my jacket had caught one TSA agent's attention, and he was on it like a bad rash. As I walked over to oversee his concern, he began to jiggle his hand down each pocket. Eventually to my surprise, he pulled out my beloved Swiss Army pocketknife. He examined the device, and informed me it would have to be confiscated. As he dropped it into a large blue bucket, I walked away devastated.

            Today, non-locking pocket knives with 1-3” blades are allowed to be taken on airplanes. However, I do not see knifes or bludgeoning devices as huge risks to air plane travel. Overall their search and confiscation is a waste of time towards addressing safety. If you look back to why many of the hijackers succeeded on 9/11, it was because they were able to break into the cockpit. Since 9/11, cockpit doors have been substantially fortified and are locked throughout the flight. Unfortunately, the US government felt that more had to be done to ease American concerns, and that seizing threatening devices and conducting full body searches would really ramp up the safety of American flights.

            Unfortunately, TSA agents are not addressing the problem. If someone wants to cut or stab someone, they will most likely be able to smuggle the device through TSA which has been proven with multiple failed tests or makeshift other devices like broken off steel luggage handles or electronics to do the same. That being said, knifes or spear-like devices will most likely not open current cockpit doors or damage the aircraft. In that sense, a person with a sharp object would have to partake in hand-to-hand combat with 300 passengers to kill everyone on board, unlikely to say the least.

            The TSA needs to clarify its purpose. If it exists to prevent plane high jacking or massive losses of life, it should solely focus on incendiary devices.  The detonation of an explosive device is the only threat to breaking the cockpit doors or compromising the integrity of the airplane. That being said, random body searches or questioning has proven ineffective in catching the "terrorist" which will be one out of a million. A TSA focusing on bomb detection can narrow down never ending list of prohibited items of what agents are looking for and leave room for bomb-detection devices and practices in their budgets.