Apple is working to modernize its stores based on the company’s new retail standard and, this time, another space in California (United States) is about to gain a good expansion, as well as another in Vancouver (Canada). In Europe, however, Apple seems to give up on plans to settle in Stockholm (Sweden) after several problems, as we will see below.
Vancouver
The Apple Pacific Center opened in 2008 and, after more than a decade with the same design, it will finally (significantly) be renewed. Apple plans to replace the entire entrance to the mall with a new two-story store, as the Daily Hive.
More precisely, the Apple store is located inside the Pacific Center shopping center, which has a “greenhouse” style entrance made of glass. According to plans presented by the architectural firm Perkins + Will and the head of the complex, Cadillac Fairview, the site where the mall’s entrance is currently going to be completely renovated to include a new retail pavilion that aligns with Apple’s architectural style.
Among the design elements presented in the project that resemble those adopted by Apple, are the large glass facade on several levels (like the Apple Store in Chicago) beneath a large wooden ceiling, gray limestone walls (which imitate stones) , wooden benches and trees arranged inside and outside the site and more, as Perkins + Will informed.
As we said, it is expected that the installation has more than one floor, which is also not new when it comes to Apple Stores. If the plans go as expected, a set of stairs and an elevator will be behind the (modern) Video Wall (new element adopted for the stores where the Today at Apple) and will give access to the mall.
Apple did not officially comment on the expansion, but that does not mean that the company’s plans to open new facilities in Vancouver depend solely on that, since last November we commented that Apple will open a new office in the Canadian city.
San Jose
Even closer to home, Apple plans to renovate and revitalize the Apple Valley Fair, located in the Westfield Valley Fair shopping center (which is also in the process of expanding) in San Jose, California.
Although Apple has also not commented on this new feature, the fiscal results of the company that manages the complex, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, pointed to this further onslaught.
URW has signed a new two-story Apple store at the Westfield Valley Fair. The indoor / outdoor location will feature a spectacular facade facing the new outdoor dining area.
As mentioned in the document, the plans include the construction of a store with two floors (as well as the possible expansion in Vancouver), which leads us to understand that the design of the two flagships should look similar. In that sense, Valley Fair documents and renderings support the idea that Apple’s new space should feature an all-glass facade, framed by steel and with a wooden ceiling.
Apple Valley Fair in November 2018.For Apple customers in San Jose, the expansion will be welcome, as the company’s current space is always crowded and does not support the activities and services that Apple has been offering for some years now, including the Today at Apple.
Stockholm
Project for Apple store in StockholmWith a project as global as Apple’s to modernize its stores in several countries, it is clear that the company would face one (or several) problem (s) along the way. This time, however, the problem is not new and it certainly hasn’t made Apple happy.
According to the Swedish newspaper Fastighetsvärlden, Apple is planning to sell the property it planned to occupy with a new Apple Store in the Swedish capital, specifically in Kungsträdgården Park (considered a historic place for the residents there).
As we said last November, the new leadership of the Stockholm City Council suspended Apple’s construction plans on the site, one of Stockholm’s oldest and most respected parks, which was designed in partnership with the architects of Foster + Partners. Currently, the place is used by the TGI Fridays restaurant chain and would involve a major renovation.
In order to (try) to recover the value and the time “lost” with the more than three years of the project, Apple must sell the TGI Fridays occupied site back to Stockholm City Hall. According to the city’s Urban Development Committee member, Björn Ljung, Apple is asking for SEK 179 million (US $ 19.3 million) for the property, a significant increase from the previously reported US $ 13.9 million.
We will see what the next chapters of this imbroglio in the Swedish capital will be.
via 9to5Mac: 1, 2, 3
