The latest Apple Store retail concept from Foster + Partners has been completed in Shanghai. The firm’s newest design for the company is located in Jing’an Park and forms the centerpiece of an urban regeneration that creates a permeable new connection between its site and the adjacent historic Jing’an Temple.
Stefan Behling, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners, describes: “We are delighted to have been given this great responsibility to create this transformative project for Shanghai. Our design reimagines the original plaza as a vibrant new public space, which provides places to sit and relax, drawing people in and respectfully enhancing the setting for the beautiful Jing’an Temple.”
Terraced seating placed on top of an elevated skywalk with gallery spaces gives the public a direct view of the Three Kingdoms era temple, framed by seasonal planting and Padang Light stone finishes that are repeated in the store’s walls and flooring.
Once inside the underground store, customers will be welcomed by a brightly lit double-height forum serviced by a central stone staircase. A disc-shaped lighting feature illuminates the interior, which is also connected to a metro link via curved ramps. It combines with accent lighting for products and wall-washers installed in the store’s perimeter to affect alternative tones depending on the time of day.
Finally, the store's ceiling is finished with undulating timber grilles that mimic its circular layout and plaza, punctuated by a large oculus to let in natural light from above.
Foster + Partners has been active in the past month with the announcement of several noteworthy new projects in Dubai, Los Angeles, Sierra Leone, and Riyadh. Back on Archinect jobs, Foster + Partners, which completed the Suhe Centre for China Resources Land in the city last year, is hiring for two Architect positions in either San Francisco or Los Angeles offices.
2 Comments
"a permeable new connection between its site and the adjacent historic Jing’an Temple" is a nice way to put this. Apple doesn't need to explain itself and everyone will know it's there. By not calling attention to the store, instead maintaining humble presence, it in fact calls great attention to itself. Buying a golden iPhone becomes a celestial act.
While its motives are suspect, no harm, no foul. It's not hard to imagine it enhancing recognition and appreciation of the temple itself. I suspect the store will be wildly successful.
Particularly liked this line "Buying a golden iPhone becomes a celestial act." Nice turn of phrase!
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