So, here's a bunch of 911 calls from Apple employees walking into glass walls

Very headache-inducing.
 By 
Johnny Lieu
 on 
So, here's a bunch of 911 calls from Apple employees walking into glass walls
Apple Park's nearly all-glass construction is creating headaches for its employees. Credit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images

Apple's spaceship-like, nearly all-glass headquarters in Cupertino is certainly beautiful, but it's proving to cause actual headaches for its employees.

A few weeks ago, reports surfaced of company workers walking into the transparent walls that adorn Apple Park. Well, the San Francisco Chronicle has published the 911 calls to prove it.

Authorities were concerned about the campus design, with Cupertino's building official Albert Salvador "worried" people weren't able to tell the difference between an automatic door and a window.

Turns out he was right. Transcripts from three different incidents were published by the newspaper, all made within three days in January. The first call is from Apple security, reporting an injury from a man who suffered a cut to his head.

Caller: We had an individual who ran into a glass wall pane and they hit their head. They have a small cut on their head and they are bleeding, slightly disoriented. We have on site security with them right now.

Dispatcher: Are you with the patient now?

Caller: No, I am not with the patient. We are trying to have a security unit call in right now so I connect you over.

Dispatcher: How old is the patient?

Caller: Late 20s.

Dispatcher: Is the patient male or female?

Caller: Male.

Dispatcher: Is he awake?

Caller: He is conscious.

Dispatcher: Is he breathing?

Caller: That we do not know. Yes, yes, he’s conscious and breathing.

Dispatcher: Let me go ahead here and update the paramedics. When did this happen?

Caller: It happened around five minutes ago. Around 12:05.

Dispatcher: Is there any serious bleeding?

Caller: Yes, from the head.

Dispatcher: Is he completely alert?

Caller: Yes.

The second call is also for an employee who's received a cut on their head from walking into a glass pane.

Caller: OK. So we had an employee, he was on campus and he walked into a glass window, hitting his head, has a little bit of a cut on the eyebrow.

Dispatcher: OK, are you with the patient now?

Caller: Uh, no. I’m calling from our call center. We have security on site with the patient.

Dispatcher: OK, how old is the patient?

Caller: Um, unknown.

Dispatcher: OK, is the patient male or female?

Caller: It’s going to be a male, adult.

Dispatcher: Is he awake?

Caller: Yes.

Dispatcher: Is he breathing?

Caller: Yes.

While the third call is from an employee who has also hit their head as they tried to walk outside, but fortunately wasn't bleeding.

Patient: Um, I walked into a glass door on the first floor of Apple Park when I was trying to go outside, which was very silly.

Dispatcher: You keep breaking up. You walked through a glass door?

Patient: I didn’t walk through a glass door. I walked into a glass door.

Dispatcher: OK, one second. Did you injure your head?

Patient: I hit my head.

Dispatcher: How old are you?

Patient: 23.

Dispatcher: Hold on one second, OK. When did this happen?

Patient: About a half an hour ago.

Dispatcher: Is there any serious bleeding?

Patient: No.

To prevent people from being poleaxed by Apple's architectural vision, Bloomberg reported some staff placed Post-it notes to "mark their presence." But these didn't last long, removed because they took away from the building's design.

It's perhaps another example of Apple elevating form over function, but the company's chief design officer Jony Ive was adamant, labelling criticisms of Apple Park "utterly bizarre" in an interview at the Smithsonian last year.

"We didn't make Apple Park for other people ... because it wasn’t made for you!" he said. "And I know how we work. And you don't!"

Topics Apple

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Johnny Lieu

Mashable Australia's Web Culture Reporter.Reach out to me on Twitter at @Johnny_Lieu or via email at jlieu [at] mashable.com

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