The construction of Apple Park.

Description

Using platforms like Descartes Labs, everyone from hobbyists to scientists can monitor the planet in near real-time for changes that matter to them. Here I use public domain satellite and aerial imagery to observe the construction of a new California landmark; Apple’s $5 billion headquarters, Apple Park. Located in Cupertino, CA, where HP’s old campus one stood before they moved to Palo Alto in 2010. Construction began in late 2013 and opened to employees in April of 2017 despite ongoing construction.

The imagery comes from NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites, and aerial imagery from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP), with spatial resolutions of 30 m, 10 m, and 50 cm per pixel resolution respectively. Images with severe cloud cover have been excluded.

Exhibits were created using the Descartes Labs python API.

2012

Location of former HP Campus

The construction of Apple Park.

May 20, 2012

National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)

2013

Earthwork and demolition

2014

Foundations

The construction of Apple Park.

June 6, 2014

National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)

2015

Framing

2016

Cladding

The construction of Apple Park.

May 29, 2016

National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)

2017

Interiors and landscaping