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At the meeting of the Chicago River and North Michigan Avenue's 'Magnificent Mile,' Foster + Partners has designed a new Apple Store that stitches together the streetscape, a public plaza, and the eponymous waterway. Apple Michigan Avenue replaces the company's 2003-built flagship store with a modernized form, that when viewed above, resembles a Macbook laptop.
"Apple Michigan Avenue is about removing boundaries between inside and outside, reviving important urban connections within the city," said Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple's chief design officer. "It unites a historic city plaza that had been cut off from the water, giving Chicago a dynamic new arena that flows effortlessly down to the river."
The project occupies a prominent position in front of Pioneer Court, where Point de Sable, Chicago's founding father, originally lived and worked. The building — outlined with glass walls that maintain the visual connection between the water and the plaza — sits atop a new public stair that seamlessly transitions between the exterior and interior landscape. A system of brushed stainless steel columns support the thin and glossy carbon fibre roof.
"We fundamentally believe in great urban life, creating new gathering places, and connecting people in an analog way within an increasingly digital world," said Stefan Behling, head of studio, Foster + Partners. "The design of Apple Michigan Avenue embodies this in its structure and materiality with a glass wall that dissolves into the background, revealing the only visible element of the building — its floating carbon fibre roof."
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