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Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

United States Architecture News - Nov 25, 2021 - 15:14   3248 views

Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

Foster + Partners has designed a new Apple store at The Grove in Los Angeles by bringing LA’s dynamic energy and creative spirit into a hall-like store filled with plenty of trees. 

Called Apple at The Grove, the new store is located Mid-City, adjacent to Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, takin place at the heart of the global entertainment industry. 

The new store forms an integral part of The Grove, the famous open-air shopping and entertainment complex that is one of the city’s most popular visitor destinations, ranking as one of the top shopping and entertainment centers in the country.

Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

Foster + Partners created a hall-like structure that soars with a 60-foot-high (5,5-metre) volume and includes a mirrored ceiling amplifying the structure. 

Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

"The initial vision was to create the most pleasant and stimulating environment for everyone, by drawing the trees from The Grove through the store onto West 3rd Street, an exceptionally spacious and light-filled volume to experience the incredible array of Apple products," said Stefan Behling, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners. 

"It brings together the special light, the trees, the spirit of the film and entertainment industry and the art of illusion, all within the soaring volume of the store, amplified by the mirrored ceiling." 

"The store is quintessentially Apple, marrying the outdoor lifestyle with the creativity and innovative spirit that is intrinsic to the way they work," added Behling. 

Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

Rooted in its locality, the design refers to the rich history of motion pictures of the city. The new store replaces an existing structure with a generous, triple-height, rectilinear space. 

The studio uses a mirrored ceiling, made from specialized stretched fabric, and generates an uninterrupted reflective surface throughout the store. 

"The ceiling is dematerialized, giving the illusion of a much larger 60-foot-high volume that reflects and amplifies the airiness of the store", added the studio. 

Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

Five-foot-wide linear skylights are added to allow natural light to flood in from above, while the beams spanning the entire width of the store cast rhythmic shadows onto the walls of the open and airy space.

Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

The exterior-facing façade is fully glazed with two 10 by 31.5-foot sliding doors to blur the boundary between the inside and outside. It also allows the store to be naturally ventilated for most of the year. 

The landscape flows from The Grove through the interior, to achive this, the studio planted 16 Ficus trees making their way through the building onto the edge of West 3rd Street. 

This also brings a biophilic approach into the design and creates a lush, environment, inviting atmosphere for people to enjoy the incredible Apple products.

Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

Inside, the plan layout is kept as a flexible space on a single level that steps down to meet West 3rd Street. The generous internal volume is highlighted by Castagna stone-clad walls, featuring some of the longest Apple Avenue displays in the world. 

Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

The store includes a Forum, a dedicated space for Today at Apple, located towards the far end of the store. There are two secondary entrances from the West 3rd Street end, one of which leads directly to the new, dedicated Apple Pickup area for online collections.

"Apple at The Grove is a buoyant space that seeks to inspire creativity in people of all ages, embracing and embodying the progressive spirit of Los Angeles," added the studio.

Foster + Partners brings LA’s energy and vitality into a new Apple store with soaring volume

Foster + Partners recently completed an Apple Store in Istanbul's Bagdat Avenue and restored LA’s historic movie theatre for a new Apple Store

Foster + Partners was founded by Norman Foster in 1967. The firm is the largest architecture firm of the UK and a global studio producing projects for sustainable architecture, urbanism, engineering and design. 

The firm completed a circular Le Dôme Winery in the rolling hills of Bordeaux, France. 

All images courtesy of Foster + Partners.

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