Jobs's expensive legacy: Apple's 'UFO' office building is a year behind schedule and '$2bn over budget'

The budget for Apple's UFO-shaped office complex dubbed 'The Spaceship' has nearly doubled to $5billion, it was claimed today.

Resembling a giant saucer, the tech giant's Campus 2 will be nestled in a dense jungle of trees near the 280 Highway in Silicon Valley and will house some 13,000 staff.

But the fact there will not be a single piece of straight glass on the entire building is thought to be one of the reasons for the rising costs.


Its completion date has also been pushed back from 2015 to the following year.




Astronomical costs: Plans for Apple's new 'UFO' office complex (above) are $2billion over budget, it has been claimed by sources close to the project





Complex operation: The fact there will not be a single piece of straight glass on the building is thought to be one of the reasons for the delay and rising costs because the manufacture is having to double its factory capacity

Seele, the German company tasked with producing the curved glass, is having to double its factory capacity to finish the project, it was reported by The Verge.

Normally the firm deals 'in terms of square feet' but it now has to manufacture something like six square kilometres of glass to cover the 2.8million sq ft HQ.




The building was initially expected to cost under $3billion, but this has now ballooned to nearly $5billion, according to five sources close to the project who spoke to Bloomberg Business Week.

This would eclipse the $3.9billion being spent on the new World Trade Centre complex in New York.




Stylish: Leaked blueprints showed that the futuristic building will have the same sleek curves and minimalist decor as the iconic Apple Stores





High-tech: Apple spent $300million just on buying the land, which formerly belonged to HP and has the appearance of a giant park in the middle of the Silicon Valley town

When the plans were unveiled by the late Apple founder Steve Jobs shortly before his death in 2011, he hoped it would be completed by 2015.

But Chief Executive Tim Cook admitted in February the move-in date had gone back to 2016.


Wanted it finished by 2015: The project, unveiled by late Apple founder Steve Jobs (pictured) shortly before his death in 2011, is also a year behind schedule

Images surfaced last year showing what the 175-acre complex, which will also contain a 1,000 seat auditorium, a gym and 300,000 square feet of 'research' space, will look like.


The HQ will have underground parking, so that 80 per cent of the site can be covered in trees - and clean energy sources, primarily natural gas, will provide its power.


The local energy grid will only be accessed in emergencies.

Leaked blueprints of the inside showed that the futuristic building will have the same sleek curves and minimalist decor as the iconic Apple Stores.

Apple spent $300million just on buying the land, which formerly belonged to HP and has the appearance of a giant park in the middle of the Silicon Valley town.

The images show high windows looking out on to lush green parkland, and open working spaces to encourage collaboration.

They also demonstrate the sheer size of the building, which will fit 12,00 people, with the windows and walls in some areas looking to be at least 40ft high.

The campus, which is being designed by blue-chip architecture firm Foster + Partners, is designed to be powered by solar panels lining the roof.

Although the leaked images are black and white, they give no reason to think that Apple will ditch its traditional monochrome colour scheme.

Apple has declined to comment on the latest costs of the project.