Tim Cook Shares GIF of Apple Park’s Incredible Motorized Sliding Doors

Apple Park is the iPhone maker’s newest campus, and part of the company’s lunch café includes two massive sliding glass doors—weighing 440,000 pounds each—which can fully open and close to allow up to 4,000 employees to enjoy fresh air while dining.

Company CEO Tim Cook shared a GIF of the doors opening and closing on Twitter yesterday, saying “Lunchtime at Apple Park just got a whole lot more exciting.”

Check out the GIF in the Twitter embed below:

What makes these sliding glass doors so incredible? They’re four stories high, extending the full height of the building, able to open and close via mechanisms hidden underground.

These doors were made by Germany-based fascade specialists, Seele. The company explains these giant doors will open or close in 12 minutes quietly:

Motors and a special drive mechanism allow these two gigantic glass “doors” to be opened or closed in 12 minutes – and particularly quietly as well. The façade elements run on rails following the 232m radius of the building with a noise level of less than 40dB. There are two drives per element, and the electric motors and transmission mechanisms are installed in the basement. Besides meeting the specification for moving these façade elements, seele also had to comply with California’s stringent earthquake requirements. Being able to secure the elements in any position at any time called for ingenious drive and locking systems.

Below are some images shared by Seele of these doors before and after construction:

Apple Restaurant Doors 5

Apple Restaurant Doors 6

Last fall, Apple Park’s Visitor Center in Cupertino opened to the public, allowing locals to finally visit the new campus.

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