Apple staff make 911 calls after walking into walls at firm’s new HQ
Founder Steve Jobs wanted Apple Park’s giant spaceship campus to look invisible
Apple’s futuristic new headquarters in Cupertino, California, may be one of the most advanced buildings in the world but the company’s employees keep walking into the office’s many glass walls and doorways.
Audio files obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle – and reportedly supplied by 911 operators earlier this year – reveal that three employees working at Apple Park in the first week of January called the emergency services after walking into glass walls.
In one call, dated 2 January, an Apple employee told the emergency services that a colleague had run into a glass wall pane and hit his head.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The caller said the man had a small cut to his head as a result of this and was “bleeding” and “slightly disoriented”.
Later that day, another employee rang 911 and told the operator that another colleague had cut his eyebrow after walking into a glass window.
The next day, a third employee needed medical attention after walking into a glass door while trying to leave the building, the Chronicle reports.
Apple Park’s glass-filled design was the brainchild of Steve Jobs, The Daily Telegraph reports. The Apple founder, who died in 2011, wanted to give workers and visitors the impression of being “immersed in their natural surroundings”
The glass walls and doors are designed to “appear invisible”, the newspaper says. The panels are smear-proof and positioned in a way that means reflections are almost non-existent.
Employees expressed concerns over the glass walls when Apple Park opened last April, says Bloomberg. To help identify doors they even left post-it notes on panels.
But the news site says the notes were taken down as “they detracted from the building’s design”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
DOJ seeks breakup of Google, Chrome
Speed Read The Justice Department aims to force Google to sell off Chrome and make other changes to rectify its illegal search monopoly
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Google Maps gets an AI upgrade to compete with Apple
Under the Radar The Google-owned Waze, a navigation app, will be getting similar upgrades
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How will the introduction of AI change Apple's iPhone?
Today's Big Question 'Apple Intelligence' is set to be introduced on the iPhone 16 as part of iOS 18
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
FDA OKs Apple AirPods as OTC hearing aids
Speed read The approved software will turn Apple's AirPods Pro 2 headphones into over-the-counter hearing aids
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will the Google antitrust ruling shake up the internet?
Today's Big Question And what does that mean for users?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Apple unveils AI integration, ChatGPT partnership
Speed Read AI capabilities will be added to a bulked-up Siri and other apps, in partnership with OpenAI's ChatGPT
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Apple Intelligence: iPhone maker set to overhaul the AI experience
In the Spotlight A 'top-to-bottom makeover of the iPhone' sees the tech giant try to win the consumer AI game
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Justice Department bites Apple with iPhone suit
Speed Read The lawsuit alleges that the tech company monopolized the smartphone industry
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published