The Cupertino-based company is about to open its 175-acre office dubbed as the Apple Park. Otherwise known as the "spaceship" because of its sheer size, one of its assets is actually its parking spaces.

Apparently, the Apple Park has around 11,000 parking spaces with the majority of vehicles tucked under the main building. Nonetheless, the other cars would be placed in two "enormous" garages to the south. In particular, the whole facility occupied 318,000 square meters (sqm) for offices and laboratories. A bigger 325,000sqm was reserved for car parks.

According to reports, the Cupertino city law really required Apple to provide ample parking for its new headquarters. Meanwhile, per Business Insider, Apple has free shuttle rides for employees to help reduce traffic and carbon emission. The "spaceship" will also offer free bikes plus an internal transit to move people from one area in the facility to another.

Nevertheless, the colossal parking spaces may have a better purpose in the long run. Obviously, Apple has started investing into the realm of self-driving cars. One of the features of autonomous vehicles is the ability to circle an area instead of parking. Thus, regular vehicles could take the space while the long series of roads would be beneficial for driverless cars. Of course, the owner will just "summon" the car from pretty much anywhere.

Well, there is one drawback. When the time comes that all individuals own an autonomous car, what then will be the use of parking lots? Fortunately, that time is still quite far.

For now, Highsnobiety reported, the new headquarters will house between 12,000 to 14,000 employees. They will be able to enjoy amenities like a wellness center, seven different cafes, and a large auditorium named Steve Jobs Theatre. Moreover, there will be a 30-acre courtyard with fruit trees and a pond. The employees would start inhabiting the $5 billion property this month.

Topics Driverless cars, Autonomous Vehicles, Self-driving cars