IN THE LOOP

IN THE LOOP

Jony Ive on Apple’s new HQ and the disappearing iPhone

By Nick(nik) Compton(ˈkämptən)

Anticipation(anˌtisəˈpāSHən) was higher than usual – and it always runs to feverish(ˈfēv(ə)riSH) – when the press(pres) and other interested parties made their way to California’s(-nēə,ˌkaləˈfôrnyə) Silicon(-kən,ˈsiləˌkän) Valley(ˈvalē) last September for the latest Apple keynote presentation(ˌprezən-,ˌprēzən-,ˌprēˌzenˈtāSHən). The most titanic(tīˈtanik) of the valley’s tech(tek) titans was due to unveil(ˌənˈvāl) its most significant(sigˈnifikənt) update to the iPhone since its launch, ten years previous(ˈprēvēəs). In that time the iPhone has upended(ˌəpˈend) industries(ˈindəstrē) and transformed how we do just about everything. The update was a big deal(dēl). But most of the golden(ˈgōldən) ticket(ˈtikit) holders were as excited(ikˈsītid) about where they were as what they were about to see.

This was the first up-close mass(mas) sighting(sīt) of the most talked-about new building in the world, a $5bn, or so it’s said, Foster(ˈfäs-,ˈfôstər) + Partners-designed(dəˈzīn) loop of glass(glas), aluminium(əˈlo͞omənəm), limestone(ˈlīmˌstōn) and concrete and Apple’s new HQ. Guests(gest) worked their way up an artificial(ˌärtəˈfiSHəl) hill(hil), part of 175 acres(ˈākər) of undulating(ˈəndʒəˌleɪt) new landscape(ˈlan(d)ˌskāp) where once was dead-flat(flat) parking facility(fəˈsilətē) and dull(dəl) corporate(ˈkôrp(ə)rət) sheds(SHed), most of it owned by Hewlett-Packard. This engineered topography(təˈpägrəfē), a fantasy(ˈfantəsē) of California, gentle(ˈjentl) and abundant(əˈbəndənt), was borne(bôrn) of the earth removed to make way for the new building’s earthquake(ˈərTHˌkwāk)-proof(pro͞of) foundations(founˈdāSHən), and has been planted with 9,000 trees, including cherry(ˈCHerē), apricot(ˈapriˌkät,ˈāpri-), apple, persimmon(pərˈsimən) and pear(pe(ə)r).

All those trees, as was the intention, mean that the 2.8 million sq(skwe(ə)r) ft(feet) new building never fully reveals(riˈvēl) itself(itˈself). You see only sections(ˈsekSHən) and its giant(ˈjīənt) curve(kərv) is never apparent(əˈparənt,əˈpe(ə)r-). Nor, given the elevation(ˌeləˈvāSHən), are two of its four storeys. Drones(drōn) have buzzed(bəz) over this site(sīt) during much of its construction(kənˈstrəkSHən), and of course there were renders(ˈrendər). Still, nothing prepares you for its audacious(ôˈdāSHəs) mass. Or its sci-fi drama(ˈdrämə). It is, as was promised(ˈpräməs), a giant(ˈjīənt) starship landed in Cupertino(ˌko͞opərˈtēnō).