The new US Apple headquarters, which is scheduled to put into operation in 2015, will exceed the size of the Pentagon-the building of US Department of Defense, reports macobserver.com. According to publication journalist's calculations, the diameter of the building of Apple is about 492 meters. A circle that would circumscribe the Pentagon has a diameter of 477 meters. It should be noted, that Pentagon is the largest office building in the world. It has approximately 26 thousand employees, and building's 5 floors have about 604 thousand square meters total area. As mentioned by Mac Observer, the diameter of new headquarters will exceed Empire State Building height in New York (443.2 meters high), and cruise ship and US nuclear aircraft carrier length. According to another source cupertino.org, construction of the complex is due to start next year. The 260 thousand square meters campus will be designed for 13 thousand employees. The campus would comprise an office, research and development building, thousand seat corporate auditorium, fitness center, research facilities, central plant and associated parking. Currently, the project must undergo environmental review and studies for impact on traffic in the Cupertino City, and finally it will be adopted. Apple is now vying with oil giant Exxon Mobil for the title of most expensive company in the world.

Apple is awaiting approval from New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for an ambitious construction project at New York metro Grand Central Terminal, reported constructiondigital.com. Apple, the world's most popular computer and electronics manufacturer, hopes to build its largest retail store ever in the historic Grand Central main concourse. The lease would cost Apple US$ 800 thousand annually for the first ten years and would bump up to US$ 1.1 million a year after the first decade. The property is currently in use by Charlie Palmer's Metrazur restaurant, which pays an annual lease of US$ 263.997 thousand. The deal is expected to be approved today at the absolute latest due to the significant financial incentive being offered to the MTA and the city of New York. Apple has also agreed to pay Metrazur US$ 5 million if the restaurant vacates the east balcony location immediately. If the MTA gives the go-ahead, Apple is expected to begin construction on the property almost immediately. The site will be renovated to better suit the company's needs for a retail store, which would be completed in about four months after construction crews begin working. The new Apple store in Grand Central Terminal would span over 2136 square meters, the largest retail store in the company's already massive collection. Currently the largest Apple store in the world is located in Convent Garden in London, England. That location covers 2320 square meters, but only 1520 square meters of that property is open to the public.

As reported by Reuters.com, a key Los Angeles freeway closed for construction work and reopened about 16 hours ahead of schedule on Sunday. After freeway reopened, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proclaimed "Mission accomplished and the early reopening saved about US$ 400 thousand in salary and other costs associated with the project". A 6.2-kilometer stretch of Interstate 405 that ranks as the most heavily traveled section of freeway in the United States was shut down on July 17 night to allow for demolition of half a bridge as part of a US$1 billion freeway widening project. Crews finished demolition work on the bridge in 37 hours, toppling two massive pillars, which interfered freeway widening. Villaraigosa said, that workers had made "great progress" on demolition of the half-century-old Mulholland Bridge. Powerful machines with long booms hammered away at the south side of the span, which was being removed to allow construction of an additional freeway lane. The plan was to leave the north-side lanes standing until the south side is rebuilt. Another closure will be required in about 11 months to demolish the north side. According to newser.com, city authorities worried about "Carmageddon" of traffic jams. That's why officials had set a fine to contractor. Project contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West faced a US$ 6 thousand fine in each direction for every 10 minutes of delay in getting the freeway reopened, according to the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. That's a total of US$ 72 thousand an hour. Despite of this, for weeks, authorities warned people that driving as usual this weekend could trigger what's been hyped as Carmageddon _ an event that could back up vehicles from the I-405 to surface streets and other freeways, causing a domino effect that could paralyze much of Los Angeles. JetBlue Airways also helped offering US$ 4 flights between Burbank and Long Beach as a special weekend promotion.

Last week California's Governor Jerry Brown was joined by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar for the ground breaking ceremony of the world's largest solar thermal facility near Blythe, California, reported constructiondigital.com. Once construction is completed, the site will feature four solar thermal power plants with a total generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts of electricity. This would be enough energy to power 800,000 (corrected by construction.am according to the US Energy Department data) American homes using a clean, domestic source of fuel. Blythe Solar will cover about 7,025 acres of land. Governor Brown praised the solar power plant as a key step toward his goal of building a green economy of the future in California."We're going to be the world leader in solar energy," Brown said during the groundbreaking ceremony. Preparations for the facility have been underway since 2010, with early work already being done on the first two solar power plants that will be able to generate 242 megawatts of electricity. The first two plants are expected to be operational and connected to California's power grid by 2014. In April the Blythe solar project received a loan guarantee of $2.1 billion from the US Federal Financing Bank. The total projected cost of the project is expected to reach about $2.8 billion. The facility is being built by the Solar Trust of America and the Solar Millennium Group, two of the world's top producers of solar thermal technology. The Solar Millennium Group built the first operational parabolic trough power plants in Europe. Parabolic trough is the only type of solar technology that has been proven since the 1980s to be able to produce enough electricity for commercial use in large power plants.

The PNC (Financial Service Corporation) Financial Group announced this week, that it plans to construct the world's greenest skyscraper. The Tower at PNC Plaza will be located In Pittsburgh, where PNC has been headquartered for more than 150 years. Once completed in 2015, the approximately 40 storey building will serve as PNC's executive Offices. At approximately 75 thousand square meters, the Tower at PNC Plaza would be PNC's largest building in Pittsburgh. Tentative plans call for approximately 300 underground parking spaces, street level retail and green rooftops. Erecting the planned $400 million Tower should create 2,500 construction jobs. Deconstruction of buildings on the site is expected to begin late in 2011, with construction scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012. PNC anticipates completion of the Tower at PNC Plaza in the summer of 2015. The project is being designed by the Pittsburgh office of Gensler, the world's largest architectural and design firm. Pittsburgh-based PJ Dick will serve as construction manager and U.K.-based Buro Happold will be the engineering firm. Paladino & Company of Seattle serves as the green building consultant. The Tower at PNC Plaza will feature a double glass facade to enhance energy efficiency by reducing cooling costs and allowing natural airflow to the building. Using advanced sensors and metering, a state-of-the-art, high efficiency heating and cooling system will deliver conditioned air to specific zones of the building, as needed. The building will be oriented to take advantage of sunlight in workspaces, reducing the need for artificial light during the day. The design team is also currently exploring fuel cells, solar panels, geothermal systems and other alternative power generation sources that will significantly reduce carbon emissions. The building's green rooftops will collect rainwater and channel it for use in other parts of the structure, as well as reduce the heat gain associated with traditional rooftops. PNC, the sixth largest bank by deposits in the United States, opened its first green building in 2000. At that time, the 60 thousand square meters PNC Firstside Center was the largest LEED-certified building in the world. In 2010, PNC opened Three PNC Plaza, one of the largest LEED-certified mixed use buildings in the United States. PNC, which has more newly constructed buildings LEED-certified by the USGBC than any company on Earth, recently completed its latest green office building in Washington, D.C. LEED Platinum certified PNC Place at 800 17th Street sits just blocks from the White House and serves as PNC's regional headquarters in the capital.