Glass walls and headaches at Apple Park

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMar 5 2018

Apple has a beautiful nearly all-glass office at Cupertino. It almost looks like a futuristic spaceship. But in reality, the all glass model is giving the employees a real and literal headache as they repeatedly bump into the glass walls.

The transparent walls that are part of the Apple Park have led to several incidents of employees bumping into the walls and calling 911 for help. According to building official Albert Salvador at Cupertino, many employees failed to differentiate between automatic doors and windows. This was leading to severe cuts and head injuries. Three such calls to the 911 were reported recently in the media and this sparked a flurry of debates whether the construction was safe.

Company’s chief design officer Jony Ive for one refused to accept that the design was faulty or “dangerous”. Salvador says that this was not an issue they had foreseen. He said when the windows are cleaned, some of them become difficult to see.

For safety the team has been placing black stickers on the corners of the glass panes so that they are more visible, he said. Salvador signed off that the building was safe and followed all the safety codes that he enforces.