Apple Campus 2: Drone flyover footage captures progress of 'spaceship' HQ in Cupertino

In spectacular new drone flyover footage, the futuristic spaceship-like structure of Apple's latest HQ, known as Campus 2, has been shown to be quickly taking shape. The Cupertino, California-based circular building designed by architect Norman Foster – not unlike the Cheltenham, UK headquarters of British spies at GCHQ – has been in construction since 2014 and is expected to be finished next year.

Now, an aerial video posted by independent drone pilot Duncan Sinfield shows the 175-acre colosseum nearing completion. Sinfield is an avid user of 4K drones and has filmed numerous locations, including the former prison at Alcatraz and New Year celebrations in San Francisco. However, perhaps the most notable footage is his ongoing coverage of the construction of Apple's latest HQ, which he has been documenting since the middle of last year.

The project, which gained approval from Cupertino City Council on 15 October 2013, is located on the former campus of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and is expected to hold more than 10,000 Apple employees in a four-storied circular building of roughly 2.8m square feet. When finished, it is to include a slew of offices, research buildings, a 1,000-seat auditorium, parking facilities and 'corporate fitness centre'. Furthermore, it is to have a café for 3,000 people and be surrounded by a green, tree-filled landscape.

In one of his last public appearances before his death in 2011, Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs presented details of how he envisioned the project to turn out. "It's got a gorgeous courtyard in the middle and a lot more. It's a circle, so it's curved all the way round. This is not the cheapest way to build something," he noted.