Mysterious Apple Park Arch is for a May 17 Event Celebrating Steve Jobs and Formal Apple Park Opening

A curious stage with a rainbow-colored arch was spotted yesterday in drone footage we shared of the Apple Park campus, leading to speculation about what it might be for.

As it turns out, the arch, which is in the rainbow colors of the original Mac logo, is for an upcoming May 17 employee event that will celebrate the formal opening of ‌Apple Park‌ and serve as a tribute to Steve Jobs, who conceptualized the spaceship-like design of the main building on the campus prior to his death.

appleparkrainbowarch
Details on the event and an interview with Apple design chief Jony Ive were shared by Cult of Mac after the site obtained a copy of internal information about the project that was originally shared with Apple employees.

Jony Ive's design team created the multicolored arch in partnership with a custom concert staging company, and conceptualizing the design took months of work. It's made from 30 unique machined components that make it easy to build up and take down for special events, but there are 25,000 parts in all including the structure itself and the metal skeleton underneath.


According to Ive, the overall goal was to "create a stage that would become immediately recognizable as the Apple Stage." The rainbow color was chosen because it's "been part of [Apple's] identity for many years."

Ive also said that the rainbow's presence is "keenly felt in many places" and that at the end of the day, it's "hard to find somebody that doesn't love a rainbow."

There is the resonance with the rainbow logo that's been part of our identity for many years. The rainbow is also a positive and joyful expression of some of our inclusion values and I think that one of the primary reasons the idea resonated so immediately and so profoundly with us was the form -- the connection from an aesthetic design point of view. A semi-circle relates so beautifully and naturally to the form of the ring.

The arch was created to be a three-dimensional object able to be "appreciated in the round" rather than just the front.

If you look at a plan view of Apple Park, the rainbow occupies an almost insignificant area. But it has a relevance and impact that is disproportionate to the area it occupies.

My space in Apple Park is on the external part of the perimeter. But I can see the rainbow reflected in the ceiling all the way through to where I sit. That truly wasn't planned but one of those lucky accidents.

We had planned the way in which the colors interplay between the discrete bands of the rainbow throughout the day making it more vital and fluid. There are some wonderful but subtle combinations and reflections.

It sounds like the rainbow arch won't be a permanent fixture at the campus, but will be able to be removed and put back up for various events hosted at ‌Apple Park‌.

There are no details on Apple's May 17 event for employees, but MacRumors was told that there will be a big name artist performing at the event. Apple's ‌Apple Park‌ Visitor's Center will be closed on May 17 due to the event.

Top Rated Comments

garnerx Avatar
64 months ago
Jony Ive's design team created the multicolored arch in partnership with a custom concert staging company, and conceptualizing the design took months of work.
Oh. My. God.
Score: 76 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johnyslats Avatar
64 months ago
Explains the lack of a radical iPhone redesign this year. The design team sure have had their hands full!
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tgwaste Avatar
64 months ago
At this point, everyone at Apple is just completely full of BS.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Williesleg Avatar
64 months ago
I miss Steve Jobs.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cb3 Avatar
64 months ago
"... Jony Ive's design team created the multicolored arch in partnership with a custom concert staging company, and conceptualizing the design took months of work. ..."

This is why you won't be seeing a new Mac Pro this year.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
64 months ago
its as if everything the guy does has to be some sort of Moby Dick masterpiece. It's just a multicolored arched stage. Geezus
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...