Michigan Avenue in Chicago has featured two major Apple stores.
The company’s first flagship in 2003, which featured a green roof, and their first new
generation flagship in 2017, which featured a super-thin carbon fiber roof.
This more recent store is one of Apple’s most unique.
Its award-winning concept, design, and construction set a new standard for the company.
And it all began in 2014 when Angela Ahrendts became Apple’s senior vice president of
retail and online stores.
At the time, Apple Stores were becoming dated.
So with help from architecture firm Foster & Partners, the company came up with a new
concept that focused less on sales and more on service.
The first of these new generation stores would be built in the heart of Chicago.
Where Apple found a perfect location at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and the Chicago
River.
It was surrounded by world-class architecture and featured a beautiful riverfront view.
But there were problems with how the plot of land was organized.
It was divided into two levels, the upper plaza and the lower riverfront.
With only one connection between them.
If pedestrians on the plaza wanted to visit the riverfront, they had to find this inconspicuous
stairway and climb down.
But the stairs were used so infrequently that a restaurant located on the lower level, went
out of business; despite the plaza above enjoying some of the heaviest foot traffic in the city.
Since Apple purchased both the upper plaza and lower riverfront, they wanted to join
both areas together seamlessly.
But doing so would require serious demolition work that would effect neighboring properties.
On one side, was a public walkway owned by the city of Chicago.
On the other, a privately-owned office building.
To make their store a reality, Apple would have to work with both parties.
Luckily, the city and private landowner cooperated, allowing Apple to make some major changes
to the property.
First, they wanted to remove the boundary between the plaza and riverfront by adding
a cascading staircase that ran the entire length of the property.
That way, pedestrians from the plaza could easily see and access the riverfront.
But for this approach to work, Apple had to make sure the river was visible in the first
place.
Building a large extravagant store in the middle of the plaza would block the view.
So they did the opposite.
Building a store that occupied less than half of the property, with a retail space that
took up less than half of the stores square footage.
Their goal was to make it appear as if there was no store at all, blurring the line between
inside and out.
That’s why, for example, trees were planted just outside the store, but also placed indoors.
And the staircase doesn’t end on either side of the building, but extends inside and
even all the way across the upper level.
Transitioning from stairs to benches, and back again.
Similarly integrated benches are on the stairs outside too.
Even the chrome handrails in the store are also used outside.
To make the building blend in even more, Apple avoided sharp corners.
Opting instead for softly curved glass and a thin tapered roof.
Which was not designed to look like the lid of a MacBook, but to simply appear as inconspicuous
as possible.
Typically, Apple would place a building like this one in the center of its plaza, but they
decided to embed it into the staircase instead.
This accomplished two things, making the store feel more integrated into its environment,
and forcing visitors to use the stairs.
By making the store as invisible as possible, Chicago’s existing skyline and riverfront
could serve as the plaza’s focal point.
This was important, since one of Apple’s goals with their new generation stores was
creating a gathering place for local communities.
Angela Ahrendts said, “I’ll know we’ve done a really great job if the next generation
of Gen Z says, ‘meet me at Apple.’”
This effort to turn stores into local meetup spots resulted in major design changes.
Previously, Apple Stores featured an illuminated logo front and center.
But that changed with the Michigan Avenue location.
It still had an Apple logo, but in a more subtle spot; built into a concrete column
that was only visible when viewed from Michigan Avenue.
Earlier Apple stores also used to have large window displays featuring their latest product
or service.
But with the new store, Apple did away with this concept.
In fact, when entering from the plaza, you won’t see any products at all.
Instead, you’ll find benches, trees, a sitting area in front of a large screen, and a beautiful
view of the river.
These qualities make the space feel more like an outdoor pavilion than a retail store.
It isn’t until you walk down the stairs that you’ll find Apple products on display.
This retail area is tucked away under the plaza.
Out of sight of passing pedestrians.
Demonstrating the store’s focus as a place to simply hang out.
To encourage passersby to drop into the store, Apple wanted to make entering as easy as possible.
Which is why they added six different doorways, more than any other Apple store in the world.
There’s two revolving doors on the plaza as well as two traditional doors.
On the riverfront, there’s two sets of double doors.
Allowing visitors to enter from the plaza, quickly pass through the store, and exit on
the lower level.
The addition of an elevator meant it was just as easy for visitors with wheelchairs to access
the riverfront also.
But this unique store design caused some continuity problems.
If Apple wanted to integrate the inside with the outdoors, they’d have to pay attention
to small details that were previously irrelevant.
For example, the outdoor stairs had to align perfectly with the stairs inside.
But that also meant the tread-indentations on those steps had to line up too.
As well as the seams between each block of concrete.
And if Apple wanted the store to blend in with its surroundings, then the artificial
light inside needed to match the natural light from outside.
They accomplished this by creating a new lighting technology that actually earned them an award.
Apple was able to predict various lighting conditions throughout the day using a rendering
engine and various datapoints from the store’s location.
The information was used to create a dynamic indoor lighting environment that perfectly
matched outdoor natural light.
With a cool hue during the day that slowly faded to a warmer shade at night.
Making entry into the store feel more comfortable and natural.
But a glass building located on a river in a cold midwestern city, would cause some problems
in winter.
The store’s warm temperature would result in noticeable condensation and frost on the
glass.
Ruining the store’s ability to blend in.
To prevent this, an HVAC system was built into the ceiling and floor to heat and cool
the exterior glass, eliminating condensation.
But there was a second problem.
Chicago’s unseasonable weather meant large swings in temperature.
Leading to ice forming on buildings one day, and melting off the next.
That’s why signs warning of falling ice can be found all over the city.
And the new Apple Store’s slippery, sloping roof happened to be the perfect shape to create
falling ice during winter.
This earned the company plenty of criticism.
To which they responded, claiming the falling ice was caused by a software issue.
They said, “The roof has a warming system that’s built into it.
It needed some fine-tuning and it got re-programmed.”
After that software update, the roof has remained clear of ice.
Despite these hiccups, the Michigan Avenue store remains one of Apple’s most iconic.
Features that were pioneered at this location, like the color-changing light technology were
later used in other stores.
Like the one on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
It set a new standard for flagship retail, just as the original location had in 2003.
This is Greg with Apple Explained, thanks for watching till the end, and I’ll see
you in the next video.