The new Apple Park Observatory sits seamlessly nestled into a hillside of the tech giant's renowned Cupertino campus. Unveiled this week, as part of Apple's series of September launches, including iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10, and AirPods, the site's latest addition 'provides a new venue to experience Apple Park and showcase Apple’s latest innovations,' the company explains.
Welcome to the Apple Park Observatory
The design features the natural stone, terrazzo and wood elements that make up much of the material identity of the wider campus and many of the Apple stores around the world – some of the most recent openings include one in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and another in London's Battersea Power Station (both designed by Foster + Partners). Foster + Partners worked on the building's early design concept, with Apple’s Global Architecture & Design team alongside Gensler developing it from there.
Open and flowing, the interior was crafted to be a flexible, multifunctional hall for special events and product launches. It sits in the heart of the wider site, next to the ring-shaped main building and Apple Park Visitor Centre, both by Foster + Partners.
The new building, like other Apple structures, uses sustainable architecture elements to ensure biodiversity and an eco-sensitive approach prevail. It was all designed to support Apple Park's aim to 'promote collaboration, communication, health, and wellbeing.'
The entire structure will run on 100 per cent renewable energy. Apple writes of its eco-friendly approach: 'Close to 90 existing trees from the site were temporarily relocated and brought back to preserve the old-growth meadow landscape. All plant species used in the project are drought tolerant, with low water usage, to align with the water-saving goals that Apple Park has set since its inception.'
-
‘Nothing just because it’s beautiful’: Performance artist Marina Abramović on turning her hand to furniture designMarina Abramović has no qualms about describing her segue into design as a ‘domestication’. But, argues the ‘grandmother of performance art’ as she unveils a collection of chairs, something doesn’t have to be provocative to be meaningful
-
A local’s guide to Los Angeles by defiant artist Fawn RogersOregon-born, LA-based artist Fawn Rogers gives us a personal tour of her adopted city as it hosts its sixth edition of Frieze
-
Shakara is a stylish new addition to London's West African dining sceneShakara, a new Marylebone bar and dining room, adds to the city's ever-more impressive high-end West African dining scene
-
This Rocky Mountains house is a ski-lover's dream escapeBozeman, a Rocky Mountains house by Pearson Design Group and Frederick Tang Architecture, is a contemporary retreat that sits low in its natural, Montana setting
-
Take a deep dive into The Palm Springs School ahead of the region’s Modernism WeekNew book ‘The Palm Springs School: Desert Modernism 1934-1975’ is the ultimate guide to exploring the midcentury gems of California, during Palm Springs Modernism Week 2025 and beyond
-
A wavy roof tops this sophisticated take on a backyard cabin in CaliforniaThis Californian Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) by Spiegel Aihara Workshop (SAW), offers an aesthetic and functional answer to housing shortages and multigenerational family living
-
Palm Springs Modernism Week 2025: let the desert architecture party beginPalm Springs Modernism Week 2025 launches on 13 February, marking the popular annual desert event’s 20th anniversary, celebrated this year through more midcentury marvels than ever
-
On the shores of Discovery Bay, this wooden house is the ultimate waterside retreatDekleva Gregorič’s Discovery Bay House is a structured yet organic shelter that blends perfectly into the surrounding Pacific Northwest landscape
-
The 10 emerging American Midwest architects you need to knowWe profile 10 emerging American Midwest architects shaking up the world of architecture - in their territory, and beyond
-
A light-filled New York loft renovation magics up extra space in a deceptively sized homeThis New York loft renovation by local practice BOND is now a warm and welcoming apartment that feels more spacious than it actually is
-
Inside Bell Labs, the modernist vision behind Severance's minimalist settingWe explore the history of Bell Labs - now known as Bell Works - the modernist Eero Saarinen-designed facility in New Jersey, which inspired the dystopian minimalist setting of 'Severance'
