Apple 'spaceship' nestled in Earthly oasis

Cupertino : Apple's new "spaceship" headquarters peeked above a nearby hillside as the sun shined gloriously through towering glass walls of the entryway to Steve Jobs Theater.

The smell of freshly turned soil was heavy in the warming air even as the site was inaugurated with the unveiling of a 10th anniversary iPhone at Apple Park in Silicon Valley.

"Apple Park has been built to reflect Apple's values for technology and the environment," chief executive Tim Cook said after paying tribute to late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs at the first-ever media event at the new campus Tuesday.

"The park itself was converted from a sea of asphalt to a green space with more than 9,000 trees; designed to be transparent with nature and bring the outside in."

Glass walls give the feeling of remaining in nature even after stepping inside.

Plants and trees taking root throughout the grand campus are native to California, and drought-resistant.

All the electricity needed to run the campus comes from an on-site solar power system, one of the largest in the world.