Dive Brief:

• Apple officials have said that construction on the $5 billion Apple Campus 2 headquarters in Cupertino, CA, should be complete in the first quarter of 2017, Business Insider reported.
• Landscaping and miscellaneous site work for the new facility, dubbed the "spaceship" because of its futuristic design, will run into the second quarter, but Apple officials said the move will begin in early 2017.
• Aerial photographers Duncan Sinfield and Matthew Roberts have captured construction progress via drones. Those videos can be viewed here and here.

Dive Insight:

Drones first caught a glimpse of the site in 2014, and video of the construction site went viral on YouTube. Other rumors swirled around the project after the joint venture of Skanska USA and DPR was replaced mid-project, with Atlanta-based Holder Construction taking over. Although reports attributed the switch to a string of delays and cost overruns, the official motive for the departure of Skanska-DPR is still unknown. The company broke ground on the project in 2014 and originally planned for completion in 2016, but that date was pushed back.

Onlookers have said the campus will "raise the bar" for construction standards as every aspect reportedly has been developed with microscopic precision. An individual with inside knowledge of construction told Business Insider that Apple supervisors frequently compared the construction process to development of the iPhone. 

When complete, Apple's new headquarters will be able to accommodate 12,000 employees and will feature a $160 million-plus auditorium, a $70 million wellness center and a 60,000-square-foot cafeteria. The largest pieces of curved glass in the world are reportedly being used in construction of the main building, and the 30-acre interior of the ring-shaped complex will feature 7,000 trees, trails and a pond. In addition, the campus will be entirely powered by solar power and biofuels, with a natural ventilation system that will eliminate the need for mechanical cooling or heating for three-quarters of the year.