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Apple's iconic Fifth Avenue store has reopened following a comprehensive restoration effort that makes its signature transparent cube more accessible. Quickly becoming one of Manhattan's most eye-catching attractions following its opening in 2006, Foster + Partners collaborated with Apple's chief design officer Sir Jonathan Ive to update the structure and create an enhanced public plaza.
A retrofitted plaza, which was originally a sunken plaza from the 1960s and later filled in, now features stone seaters shaded by rows of trees, linear fountains along the edges of 58th and 59 Streets, and two auxiliary entrances that provide additional areas of ingress to the store.
"The Fifth Avenue store was and is a continuation of Steve’s vision for Apple, with its iconic transparent cube, which is one of the most visited places in the city," said Sir Jonathan Ive. "The new design seeks to build on the original idea and create a public plaza that celebrates the vibrant nature of New York City. It gifts Manhattan its greatest new urban room, a celebration of city life, diversity and creativity."
A collection of mirrored 'Skylenses', nine in total, surround the cube on both sides. These multi-purpose sculptures can be used for seating, but also serve as unique photographic opportunities, emitting new perspectives of Manhattan's skyscrapers. The skylenses are outfitted with a circulatory cooling system underneath the surface, designed to absorb solar energy and offer frost protection to enable year-round use. The mirrored glass also directs light into the expanded store below, which is twice the size of the previous space.
A new circular lift and stainless steel staircase guide customers to the subterranean store, which features a grand hall crowned by a cloud-like ceiling compose of a three-dimensional curved fabric. A ring of lights around each skylight includes focus lighting that spotlights the products displayed on the store's tables.
"Inspired by the original vision of the sunken open-air plaza, we wanted to completely dematerialize the roof of the store and flood the interior space with daylight," said Stefan Behling, Head of Studio, Foster+Partners. "The Skylenses literally bring the skies underground and the innovative tunable white light ceiling allows us to match the exact wavelengths of sunlight at different times of day, blurring the boundary between inside and outside."
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