Redesigned and Expanded Third Street Promenade Apple Store Opens in Santa Monica, CA

Cool, I'll have to go there and check it out!

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firestarter said:

Apple store articles are the dullest postings on this site.

Really... who cares?

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People who live in Santa Monica (me)!
But yeah, I see what you mean. I don't give a @#$% if a new store opens in China.

MacFoodPoisoner said:

This is an ecological disaster of building for such a climate. I bet the air conditioning units are larger in volume than the actual store to keep this place cool. But they could be using reflective coatings on the glass which would mean anyone walking outside will be properly toasted.

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For such a climate? What do you think Santa Monica is like? Death Valley?

I think it's safe to assume Apple and the engineers behind these magnificent buildings know what they are doing when it comes to glass.

JoEw said:

This is so worth frontpage.. Ha

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Aren't you witty? So, as I understand it this story shouldn't have been posted on the front page because it was a waste of your time? Yet you did have time to look at it, read it, and comment on it...

BlazednSleepy said:

For such a climate? What do you think Santa Monica is like? Death Valley?

I think it's safe to assume Apple and the engineers behind these magnificent buildings know what they are doing when it comes to glass.

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There is a LOT of sunlight in Santa Monica even though it's not super hot there. The ocean keeps the air cooler. Still, year-round, it's pretty hot. I'll buy the explanation that the store can cool itself by convection.

MacFoodPoisoner said:

...For 5 years the imac has been a reflective/glare disaster like nothing before or since, and you have the nerve to tell me about apple's expertise with glass?...

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Are you referring to the 5 years during which Apple has only grown their PC sales, while the industry as a whole continues to tank?

ChrisA said:

Notice the ceiling height. It is tall enough to cool by convection.

If your car were 40 feet tall it could be cool when you park it outdoors too if you were to open both floor and roof vents. But no car is 40 feet tall

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But it's basically a big green house... well they are selling Apples

rdlink said:

Are you referring to the 5 years during which Apple has only grown their PC sales, while the industry as a whole continues to tank?

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that doesn't make the imac of the last 5 years not a **** product, it's the worse screen in terms of glare and reflections and double imaging due to the gap ever in computing history, with thousands of petition signatures around the globe gathered for apple to do something about it.

BlazednSleepy said:

For such a climate? What do you think Santa Monica is like? Death Valley?

I think it's safe to assume Apple and the engineers behind these magnificent buildings know what they are doing when it comes to glass.

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They know what they do when it comes to aesthetics, not eco building. They are notorious for form over fuction design. By the same token they knew what they were doing when they stuck untreated glass on the imac... they didn't. From a usability standpoint it was a nightmare. There is a reason why monitor experts (that run circles around apple's screen tech) such as nec and eizo don't go around sticking glass on top of their displays and leave a gap in between too. Apple did it so the imac would look keeewwwl, it did, but it ruined everything else.

High ceilings and a glass facade should make the NYC store an energy-chugging beast to heat in the winter. Looks like maybe these are designed to take advantage of sunlight, but what do you do when the days are short, cold, and often cloudy? Maybe they can get away with it in California, but it doesn't look to me like the kind of design that's suited to the northeast.

L.A is known to have earthquakes.
Just sayin..

MacRumors said:

Apple proposed the new store to the Santa Monica planning commission more than a year ago, with the new building gaining approval without so much as a discussion.

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This isn't actually true. The project was on the consent calendar at the Planning Commission, but was a matter of much discussion and some controversy at the Architectural Review Board.

http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_..._Facade_of_Downtown_Apple_Store_Approval.html

MacFoodPoisoner said:

As original as apple's design of their stores.

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Hmm...I wasn't aware that a company's retail stores all had to look original. Anyway suggesting that all Apple stores look the same is ridiculous. How exactly does this store look like the Covent Garden or Paris Opera store?

Was there today, I didn't know it was a grand opening. The place is pretty nice and man was it packed. Went in and looked around. I liked it.

Lancer said:

Also in Santa Monica how the hell do they keep the building cool in summer?

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Went in today myself (awesome!). In addition to many answers you've gotten, like the design being high and wide:

(1) Santa Monica, being near the ocean, is typically some 10 degrees cooler than the rest of L.A. So if it's 90 degrees in L.A. it's 80 in Santa Monica. Also, because S.M. is on the ocean, it gets far more fog and cloud cover. The Promenade is some three blocks from the ocean. So while there is a lot of sunlight during the year (it's California), S.M. is, relatively speaking, less relentlessly sunny than other areas of Southern California.
(2) the glass ceiling panels are tinted--i.e. they're blocking out a lot of the sunlight.
(3) the front windows won't get any direct sunlight coming in as the store faces west. That means only the setting sun could come in through the front of the building and buildings across from the store prevent that. Which is to say, the only direct sunlight will come in from overhead (see #1)
(4) I asked one of the sales guys about the heat issue and he pointed out to me a whole perforated area of wall below the display tables. The building has a system of air that comes out from the lower walls and circulates over the floors. He assured me that rain or shine, the building will stay at a comfortable temperature year round. It's very highly and ingeniously climate controlled.

another monument to 21st century greed. great!

Let's all cheer! Apple has another giant, waste of space store in the world. Aren't we all proud for them!!

The world is a better place. Yippee!!

Apple:

"This is the best store we've built so far. It is just magical. The engineering that went into redesigning the new Apple store is a work of art.

The store is taller than the last version and much thinner. "

Lol!

MacRumors said:

Apple's old Third Street Promenade location was one of the early Apple Stores and was an extremely popular location that was almost always crowded to capacity.

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Kinda fun reading that sentence.

Rogifan said:

Hmm...I wasn't aware that a company's retail stores all had to look original. Anyway suggesting that all Apple stores look the same is ridiculous. How exactly does this store look like the Covent Garden or Paris Opera store?

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don't pretend you don't understand what I am saying, you can do better than that. The comment was on the "oh, a new apple store" or "oh, a redesigned apple store" kind of front page "news" when it's just like another macdonalds or starbucks opening up as they all look so alike, more so than the other two businesses I mentioned. Some of the flagship stores might very slightly differ, but it's basically the same recipe. And no, they don't have to look original, but looking so alike makes for a boring predictable experience, another city, another same apple store with glass and birch. Yaaaawwwnn..

Lancer said:

Been wondering if Apple has some special coating on all that glass to stop finger prints and reduce glare

Also in Santa Monica how the hell do they keep the building cool in summer?

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They have this exact same store design at Highland Village in Houston and I can tell you, it gets hot as hell in there.

After about a month they installed large cloth strips on the ceiling to provide shade.

I was there!

MacFoodPoisoner said:

This is an ecological disaster of building for such a climate. I bet the air conditioning units are larger in volume than the actual store to keep this place cool. But they could be using reflective coatings on the glass which would mean anyone walking outside will be properly toasted.

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This store's about 2 blocks from the shore. Santa Monica's average temp in the middle of the summer is 71° F, so your comment is way off.

BTW, Houston's average during summer is 93° F, so it's not the same. Not even close.
Your comments have not been validated.
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EDIT: thederby beat me to the punch. Nice.

I love this design

thederby said:

furthermore, the average temperature in santa monica is between 63°-71°. most of the homes in that area don't even have air conditioning.

what, exactly, about the climate would necessitate "units are larger in volume than the actual store"?

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Well it is cooler in Santa Monica than other parts of LA it also can get pretty hot and up upwards of 80° sometimes in the summer time so it's not always 63 to 71° in Santa Monica I live in the area

RawBert said:

This store's about 2 blocks from the shore. Santa Monica's average temp in the middle of the summer is 71° F, so your comment is way off.

BTW, Houston's average during summer is 93° F, so it's not the same. Not even close.
Your comments have not been validated.
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EDIT: thederby beat me to the punch. Nice.

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Everyone's comments that apple knows best and seeing that they are glass geniuses couldn't possibly design a store that would subsequently need shades have been proven as utter rubbish. It remains to be seen if what I said is accurate or not, at least it hasn't been conclusively disproved as the other position. Better luck next time buddy.

MacFoodPoisoner said:

It remains to be seen if what I said is accurate or not...

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Right, because those data numbers don't disprove your original comment.
What the hell do you even care about a GD store in Santa Monica? Even IF your lame comment were true, who gives a Sh? Will it really destroy the world if this store uses a big-ass AC?
F-it, what the hell do I care what you say?

Wow.. ANother one..

These glass Apple store fronts are putting Australia, Perth stores to shame

Come on apple, how about those glass stores here..... we gotta put up with with 'normal' crappy stores' after seeing these.