Apple’s “Hobbit Hole” building stirs mockery online


Apple has opened a new building, and it's the epitome of minimalism. Too bad people are already tired of it.

The iPhone 16 wasn’t the only major novelty presented by Apple at its recent “Glowtime” event, where the company revealed its latest products.

The day before the event, Apple’s headquarters, Apple Park, located in Cupertino, California, was also upgraded with a new building on the site – Apple Park Observatory.

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The new building was built as an event site where the company’s latest tech would be showcased and a place for focus and deep thinking.

Apple’s headquarters are surrounded by nature, so the company’s main goal was to incorporate the observatory into this landscape.

Inside the observatory, which is run by 100% renewable energy, visitors can find a domed entrance hall with a three-meter-wide opening looking out into Apple Park’s main building.

Apple Observatory
Image by Apple via Dezeen

From here, visitors can reach the main event space, which has a terrace that overlooks Apple Park and the mountains.

Pictures of the building's interior show it to be quite spacious with lots of light. Its decor is very minimalistic, filled with natural stone and wood elements, the same materials that are used in The Steve Jobs Theater, first reports Dezeen.

While it seems that a lot of thought was put into the construction of the observatory, people online had their own opinions about the new building.

“iTurrell,” joked one Redditor user, who, along with a few others, noticed that the new building had a “skyspace,” or wide openings in the ceiling. The American artist James Turrell is best known for such a lighting concept.

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Inside Apple Observatory
Image by Apple via Dezeen

“Observatory. Are we observing the tiny hole in the ceiling?” said another user, referring to the picture capturing the space dedicated to contemplation. Nevertheless, another user was quick to notice that “there’s a big hobbit-hole window” for that reason.

Considering that the new building serves as a working space, some netizens also questioned how convenient it actually is.

“Love the staging of the scene by the photographer because nobody will ever be in there working on a laptop,” noted a Redditor.

Minimalism gained popularity in the 1970s and has been on the rise for a while now. But it seems that people are getting tired of it, hinting that Apple has also been on this train for quite some time: “Apple style is always sterile and soulless, made to be lived by robots,” shared one Redditor.

“Reminds me of waiting for my wife to come out of the museum bathroom,” joked another one.”

But there were users who pointed out that it’s also a place of work, trying to justify the design choices through practicality: “[...] you are the soul and the building is like a white plate or bowl that simply holds it. it's not a home,” concluded a thoughtful contributor.