Reinvention of a classic Italian piazza to create a new kind of Apple store, incorporating a new public amphitheatre and a spectacular glass fountain as its entrance.

Prix Versailles Special prize Exterior Award 2019 – Shops & Stores

Apple’s new flagship store in Milan is more than just a retail outlet; it creates vital new public space, with a new stepped amphitheatre that is open to the public 24 hours a day and will host cultural events throughout the year.

A curtain of water, created by a series of water jets running over eight-metre-tall glass panels, provides both a focal point for the amphitheatre and a striking entrance to the Apple store beneath it.

Eckersley O’Callaghan designed the immersive glass entrance portal and the cantilevered staircase of stone and polished stainless steel that descends from it. We also engineered the glass lift enclosure, external glass walls and refined details such as titanium inserts for the handrails and external balustrades.

By using structural silicone to bond the glass panels for the two glass structures, we minimised the need for fittings and holes, which ensured a cleaner aesthetic while also keeping the design cost effective.

Location
Milan, Italy

Client
Apple

Architect
Foster + Partners