In 2001, Apple issued its Retail Store Manifesto, proclaiming its ambition to use retail to convince people that “Macintosh offers a much simpler, richer, and more human-centered computing experience” despite retail stores being unpopular among technology companies at the time. This vision has shaped Apple’s unique approach to retail, transforming its stores into environments beyond shopping. Since the inception of its first store, Apple has redefined the retail experience, emphasizing customer engagement and education and creating a community around its products. The stores “have become the embodiment of the Apple lifestyle.” This is done through products displayed on tables for easy access and mid-height furniture clusters in an open plan to foster interaction and visual orientation within the more prominent “Apple community.”
Since 2014, Apple’s collaboration with Foster + Partners has taken its retail design to new dimensions. Their collaboration started with the urban Apple Bagdat Caddesi in Istanbul, seeking to create “a green oasis in the heart of the city.” According to "Apple by Foster, Reinventing Patrimony," these stores feature hallmark design features, such as the glass staircase, the hidden joinery, and brushed metallic surfaces, intended to mirror the company’s product design. Over the past decade, “Apple stores have become iconic fixtures in trendy urban centers.” Whether it’s Foster + Partners’ adaptive reuse design in Rome’s Via del Corso, or the heritage-driven flagship in Regent Street, London, the transparent envelope in Apple Park, or their outwards-facing design overlooking urban life in Dubai, Foster + Partners’ collaboration with Apple has proved to be innovative in various ways.
Read on to discover 15 Apple store designs by Foster + Partners in different urban centers.
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What are Branded Environments?Apple Bagdat Caddesi / Foster + Partners
Istanbul, Turkey
Apple Store Via Del Corso / Foster + Partners
Rome, Italy
Apple Store Jing'an / Foster + Partners
Jingan, China
Apple Brompton Road / Foster + Partners
London, United Kingdom
Apple Regent Street / Foster + Partners
London, United Kingdom
Apple Al Maryah Island / Foster + Partners
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Apple Store Fifth Avenue / Foster + Partners
New York, United States of America
Apple Park Visitor Center / Foster + Partners
California, United States of America
Apple Piazza Liberty / Foster + Partners
Milan, Italy
Apple Store Sanlitun / Foster + Partners
Chaoyang Qu, China
Apple Marina Bay Sands / Foster + Partners
Singapore
Apple Central World Bangkok / Foster + Partners
Bangkok, Thailand
Apple Tower Theatre / Foster + Partners
Los Angeles, United States of America
Apple Dubai Mall / Foster + Partners
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Apple Store Michigan Avenue, Chicago / Foster + Partners
Chicago, United States of America
