Renderings Show Off Apple's New Retail Store Alongside Chicago River

[MacRumors]

The Chicago Tribune has obtained an exclusive first look at Apple's planned new flagship store in Chicago, which will be placed alongside the Chicago River. The new store will "echo" legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style homes, which Wright pioneered near the city.

The store will be located near the historic Michigan Bridge and include a "grand flight of stairs" that will go from street-level to a walkway alongside the Chicago River's north bank. On the street-level side, the store will have an entry pavilion that's 14-feet high. Pedestrians entering from N. Michigan Avenue will have to proceed downward onto the sales floor via stairs or an elevator.

The new flagship will have glass walls with a thin, high-strength carbon fiber roof. The 20,000 square-foot store will replace a vacant food court, and an Apple spokesman confirmed to the Chicago Tribune that it wants to start construction next year. The Tribune notes that the new store could be a "boon for the neighborhood", shifting retail focus on Michigan Avenue further south and encouraging development of future architectural projects in the area.

The store is being headed by Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, Apple's frequent architectural partner and the firm in charge of its new Cupertino headquarters. Apple is scheduled to present a proposal on the new store to the Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday, but a department spokesman told the Tribune that the presentation is a formality as the planning department has already approved the proposal. Additionally, Apple already has a deal in place with Zeller Realty Group, the owner of the territory the new Apple Store will reside on.

Apple's current flagship store in Chicago is the four-story North Michigan Avenue store, which it has occupied since 2003. According to the Tribune, the new flagship could give Apple greater visibility in the area and higher sales. More renderings of the new store can be seen at the Chicago Tribune's website.

Article Link: Renderings Show Off Apple's New Retail Store Alongside Chicago River

 

[farewelwilliams]

iPad Pro 2 features a larger screen with a wooden material on the back side

 

[lowendlinux]

Looks nice

 

[b1wils1]

Cue comments on 'more focus on software, watch is a flop, hate aTV commercials, Tim Cook needs to be ousted, blah blah' in 3...2...1

 

[Mildredop]

The store is being headed by Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, Apple's frequent architectural partner and the firm in charge of its new Cupertino headquarters.

Apple really does love English designers.

 

[il_teo77]

Reminds me of something (and, not coincidentally a museum).

Mies Van der Rohe: Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (1968)

 

[iZac]

Looks like someone ironed the Rogers Welsh Assembly

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Absolutely stunning. They're going to pay for it in $99 pencils and in Europe €89 replacement remotes, €149 Magic Trackpad 2's and €179 Apple TVs.

 

[DanielDD]

Too bad weather in Chicago doesn't give many opportunities for the view from inside the shop to be gorgeous. Can't wait for those rainy, windy days

 

[lowendlinux]

Reminds me of something (and, not coincidentally a museum).

Mies Van der Rohe: Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (1968)

Looks like someone ironed the Rogers Welsh Assembly

But it's thinner

 

[2457282]

I travel to Chicago for business multiple times a year. Will definitely check this out. Maybe I can get a drone and record the construction progress and have MR make that a storie every month.

 

[TXCherokee]

Too bad weather in Chicago doesn't give many opportunities for the view from inside the shop to be gorgeous. Can't wait for those rainy, windy days

And being Chicago, they better use bulletproof glass.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

That museum looks like a standard car showroom in comparison.

 

[b0nd18t]

The roof kind of looks ridiculous to me. I'm sure it will look good in person though.

 

[carrrrrlos]

Such a diverse crowd of people in those renderings.

 

[Popeye206]

Looks like the design will enhance WiFi signal making Safari snappier!

Really... looks very cool.

 

[jlc1978]

Chicago is a city in love with architecture and has many interesting buildings designed by great architects. Looks like this will fit right in.

 

[arcite]

Like an ancient Greek temple where peons made offerings of food to the gods, so too do we offer our credit cards in exchange for magical devices.

Such a diverse crowd of people in those renderings.

LOL you're right, not a single visible minority or anyone with a BMI over 20.

 

[ericinboston]

Gotta love these renderings:

1)All white people
2)Everyone's looking really healthy and physically fit
3)Sexy girl with half top in the very foreground of one of the pix.

 

[BruceEBonus]

What a lovely new building. A utopian future for all. Even the people are beautiful. Quite an emotional moment there. Apple really are going from strength to stren... oh no. What am I saying? They've completely lost touch with their original customer base. Ended up resizing Jobs' products into watches, styli and steroid chomping I pads instead of inventing stuff people want and smokescreening it all with frippery like this hype. Wait til my missus finds out I fell for it all. She's gonna kill me!

 

[zOne31]

Gotta love these renderings:

1)All white people
2)Everyone's looking really healthy and physically fit
3)Sexy girl with half top in the very foreground of one of the pix.

Well, considering on where it's being opened, that's a pretty realistic rendering. You def won't be seeing any Apple Stores outside of the north side.

I don't see why Apple needs a new store in Chicago. The one on Michigan is in a nice location already. Also, they basically took over an entire train stop with ads on North/Clybourn. Apple should be spending more money on developing products than creating new stores in already established locations.

 

[jlc1978]

Gotta love these renderings:

1)All white people
2)Everyone's looking really healthy and physically fit
3)Sexy girl with half top in the very foreground of one of the pix.

My guess is the rendering was done over photos shot of the location, rather than all computer generated. If it was strictly a rendering much of the detail would have been more generic or omitted, such as the tour boat in the lower right.

 

[jlc1978]

Well, considering on where it's being opened, that's a pretty realistic rendering. You def won't be seeing any Apple Stores outside of the north side.

I don't see why Apple needs a new store in Chicago. The one on Michigan is in a nice location already. Also, they basically took over an entire train stop with ads on North/Clybourn. Apple should be spending more money on developing products than creating new stores in already established locations.

Flagship store in a city that likes architecture. The current store on Michigan is pretty blah, especially when compared to a lot of the iconic buildings in the downtown. This makes Apple a stop on the architecture tour and the boat tours, rather than just another store on Michigan Ave. My guess is the existing store closes when the new one opens, given the close proximity of the stores.

 

[Costino1]

That is a very close proximity to each other. If you're a fast walker you can walk from Hancock Tower to the Chicago River in 10 minutes....

However, the current Apple store is always packed. Maybe this will help with the overflow and be a smaller 'B sized' store for them.

Living in Northwest Indiana, I'm spoiled with Apple Stores. One downtown Chicago, one in South Bend/Notre Dame, one in Orland Park IL, and one in Lincoln Park. 4 within an hours drive.

 

[DanielSw]

Well, considering on where it's being opened, that's a pretty realistic rendering. You def won't be seeing any Apple Stores outside of the north side.

I don't see why Apple needs a new store in Chicago. The one on Michigan is in a nice location already. Also, they basically took over an entire train stop with ads on North/Clybourn. Apple should be spending more money on developing products than creating new stores in already established locations.

Yet another person (you) I'm glad doesn't work for Apple!

Apple knows quite well how and when to spend its money.