Apple’s first store in Belgium, featuring a curved glass facade eight metres tall.
Apple’s first Belgian retail store is situated at Avenue de la Toison d’Or in a busy Brussels shopping area. Eckersley O’Callaghan engineered the store’s facade, which consists of a series of curved and straight glazing panels, approximately 8.5 metres in height, without any vertical supporting mullions or structure.
The glass curves around two sides of the corner building and all panels are connected by 20 millimetre structural silicone joints to ensure the structural integrity.
The complexity lay in the fabrication of the glass – four layers were required to achieve the necessary stiffness for the straight panels. This had to be matched by the curved panels to ensure a consistent facade thickness.
Procurement of the glass and the suppliers for this were key to the project’s success. Our early design work involved identifying the key fabricators, and discussing our design approach and technical requirements with them.
Through a rigorous sample audit and subsequent testing of proposed curved moulds it was possible to complete design. We collaborated with the glass fabricator to finalise the connection details and monitored the installation to ensure quality.
© Eckersley O’Callaghan 2024
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