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Apple's All-New Birmingham Store Opens September 24, Bullring Location to Close
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Yup it was, it was too small from day one - and actually only had one floor (for customers) IIRC. With the rise of Apple's popularity, the issue was always compounded. I no longer live in Brum, but it's my home city - and glad that this is finally going ahead, it's a perfect building for Apple.
As other's have said, it is built atop a ramped street, but it also goes higher than it appears.
This is what it looked like inside when it was Waterstones.
This is only the "front half" of the shop too. The bottom photo is actually taken from the middle of the front half, there's a fair amount of room behind the camera as can be seen in the top photo. The building stretches back a decent amount behind the stairs and then there's a basement. There's also "mid-levels" to the sides where the stairs are, and to the back of the building (to make the six). Whilst it may not all be used as "store", a lot of it can be converted into different areas - including training areas/theatres like some other stores, as well as maybe demo areas or "product" areas - there's plenty of room for all of that, plus stock and staff areas.
It doesn't look vastly bigger than the Bullring store (width-wise), but it is a much better looking building than a plain rectangle in a shopping centre
I'd say it's actually about twice as wide, and more than twice the length in total - these pictures (as above) don't show the full magnitude of the store at all.
Really looking forward to visiting when I go back to Brum to visit family and friends!
It doesn't look vastly bigger than the Bullring store (width-wise), but it is a much better looking building than a plain rectangle in a shopping centre
The photo is a little bit deceptive from the front a few points to be mindful about
- The front door is huge, its a big double height and probably double length door compared to the one at the Bullring
- Its on a slope so there is actually a second entrance on the bottom floor under the floor the main entrance is on which assuming Apple use it (and they should!) is right over the road from New Street Station and the Metro tram stop.
- The main staircase is not at the back of the store it actually carries on behind that about roughly half again that you can see in the photos and there is a floor under that (with that second entrance)
- There are multiple floors above the main floor and from what I remember its basically a maze with a spiral staircase somewhere as well
I remember spending hours at a time in my late teens and early 20's in the maze system - reading tech books and using it as a library! I'd always buy as I could afford, but always felt less "under pressure" than at the High Street Waterstone's in full view, and it was always quieter in the maze than downstairs in New Street, or anywhere in High Street.....
That photo brings back some fond-memories.
- iSight Cameras
- PowerMac G5s
- 23" Cinema Displays
- Various sections of the store devoted to iLife applications like one w/ just digital cameras or Music Players (iPods) and another w/ AV equipment
First time I went in as an A-Level student I got lost in the maze, gave up quickly and just read a book for 15 min before trying again
. I know what you mean about Hight Street Waterstones but its gotten better since they refurbished it, I see people using the tables they have on certain floors now to just study all the time.First time I went in as an A-Level student I got lost in the maze, gave up quickly and just read a book for 15 min before trying again
I'm a Silhillian by birth, and a Brummie by heart. Moved away almost 5 years ago now though - and now a country boy (or middle aged man now, I keep forgetting!
) by heart and mind. Haven't been in Waterstone's High Street for many years - but really looking forward to going to the new New Street Apple store!
Yeah, you're right - the glass frontage on the bullring store just makes it look wider than it is.
I am disappointed that the headline wasn't along the lines of "The new Apple Store in Birmingham will SHOCK you."
Highcross always feels much less cramped than Birmingham, though. Not sure if it is indeed wider or that Brummies feel obliged to bring a pushchair along to every visit to the Apple store.
The old Dillons/Waterstones was always a rabbit warren inside and all the better for that. I hope Apple doesn't gut it inside under some misguided idea that every location has to conform to Apple's 'less is more' mantra. I would assume that there are quite a few planning restrictions in place. Too late to take over the old Central Library. Would have been oodles of retail space in that.
The planning application mentions restoring it to the original banking hall layout - so a lot of the clutter added over the years will go.
That's right, it looks like this balcony will be going.
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/new-giant-apple-store-open-10169035
It's bigger than that. I'd say half of the front half of the building is about the same size as Bullring.
With the balcony gone, depending on which two floors they use, it could easily be up to four times the size of the current Bullring store....
[doublepost=1474481507][/doublepost]Check out the videos on this news article to see the scale of the building, especially the second video under the heading "Watch the scaffolding come down from the New Street Apple store":
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/new-apple-store-birmingham-open-11793131
Thats the back of the building, the area looks different since the Grand Central facelift.
The article I quoted from said the ground floor and the vault. The basement is probably only half the size of the ground floor, if that, because of the slope when looking from the side. Never been down there so cannot say for sure.
According to a staff member I talked to recently, the new store will be 10 times larger than the current one. The New Street store is a beautiful building and, as a Brummie, I am delighted that Apple are going to look after it. I was worried its might be another H&M or Primark...
Looking at the planning permission plans and alterations, there's a lot of office space, training space, conference room space, etc --- I'm guessing it's a prime location, right next door to New Street Station...... With HS2 coming at some point, locking into a long lease probably means quite some saving for prime retail estate and prestige offices, for a fraction of the cost of London?
Ah, I thought it was odd, Apple opening a fancy new shop in an ugly area. My local Apple shop is of the boring, stock variety, in a (reasonably nicely designed) shopping centre.