Envisioned by Steve Jobs as a center for creativity and collaboration, Apple Park is transforming miles of asphalt sprawl into a haven of green space in the heart of the Santa Clara Valley. The campus’ ring-shaped 260,128.51 m2 (2.8 million-square-foot) main building is clad entirely in the world’s largest panels of curved glass. Steve would have turned 62 on Friday, February 24. To honour his memory and his enduring influence on Apple and the world, the theater at Apple Park will be named the Steve Jobs Theater. Opening later this year, the entrance to the 1,000-seat auditorium is a 6.09 m glass cylinder, 50 m in diameter, supporting a metallic carbon-fiber roof. The Steve Jobs Theater is situated atop a hill — one of the highest points within Apple Park — overlooking meadows and the main building. “Steve’s vision for Apple stretched far beyond his time with us. He intended Apple Park to be the home of innovation for generations to come,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The workspaces and parklands are designed to inspire our team as well as benefit the environment. We’ve achieved one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world and the campus will run entirely on renewable energy.” According to Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, the company has approached the design, engineering and making of its new campus with the same enthusiasm and design principles that characterize its products. Apple Park will also include a visitors center with an Apple Store and cafe open to the public, a 9,290.34 m2 fitness center for Apple employees, secure research and development facilities and the Steve Jobs Theater. The parklands offer 3.2 km of walking and running paths for employees, plus an orchard, meadow and pond within the ring’s interior grounds. Designed in collaboration with Foster + Partners, Apple Park replaces 464,517.06 m2 of asphalt and concrete with grassy fields and over 9,000 native and drought-resistant trees. With 17 megawatts of rooftop solar, Apple Park will run one of the largest on-site solar energy installations in the world. It is also the site of the world’s largest naturally ventilated building, projected to require no heating or air conditioning for nine months of the year. The process of moving more than 12,000 people will take over six months, and construction of the buildings and parklands is scheduled to continue through the summer.

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Regent Street is one of the most famous shopping streets in the world, and the site where Apple opened its first retail store in Europe in 2004; the new store occupies the same 1898 building, with the Grade II listed historic façade now restored and preserved. Characteristic of the new Apple Flagships, the interior space is a 7.2-metre double-height grand hall – forming a ‘town square’ like space that is flexible and welcoming. The design enhances transparency from the street and floods the store with natural light, dramatically improving the visual connection between the two levels. The interior front facade, with its full height arches clad in Portland stone, can be appreciated in its full extent. The store also features the longest Luminous Ceiling Panels in the world that cover the entire ceiling. The custom-made lighting panels emit a pure, even, white light, and have the capability to absorb ambient noise. Using a warm palette of materials including stone, wood and terrazzo that is sympathetic to the historic nature of the building, the store has a calm setting, with the increased height allowing for the addition of twelve Ficus Ali trees on the ground level, bringing nature to the interior spaces. The grove of trees have planters – designed by Apple’s ID Studio and Foster + Partners – that double as a comfortable place to sit and rest. The signature Apple display tables are set against the backdrop of the new Avenue – the completely redesigned wall display that allows people to touch, feel and try out the Apple products and accessories in an engaging and hands-on way. Located in the middle of the space, The Forum is a new learning environment, where experts from various fields can come to entertain, inspire and teach. It occupies a prime position in the store with a vast video wall that acts as an animated backdrop for the entire store. Along the sidewalls, a staircase on either side of the screen draws one up to the new mezzanine level, overlooking the grand hall. The mezzanine hosts the Apple’s Geniuses, where visitors can get assistance to setup their device or answers any product related queries, and the Boardroom – a place for meetings, conversations and partnerships that can be used by app developers, digital entrepreneurs and other small start-ups to become part of the Apple family. The walls and staircases are made from sandblasted stone, while the balustrade – seemingly carved in to the wall – has a smooth, curved, and honed finish that is pleasant to touch. The stone parts were created by a combination of handcraftsmanship and CNC robotics, and were dry assembled on site. Additionally, 89% of construction waste was recycled during the project, while the store is powered by 100% renewable, clean energy. The design of Apple Regent Street in London is the result of a close collaboration between Apple’s teams led by Jonathan Ive, chief design officer and Angela Ahrendts, senior vice president of Retail and Foster + Partners.

The post Apple Regent Street was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

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