Apple's New Fifth Avenue Store Cube Fully Revealed [Update: Video]

[Taank]

I completely agree with Ron Johnson, the old design was way better. The new one is just too boring. Sometimes, Steve got it all wrong.

In "Steve Jobs", the biography, there is this paragraph:

- Ron Johnson was not thrilled by the idea (Of changing the store). He thought the eighteen panes actually looked better than four panes would. "The proportions we have today work magically with the colonnade of the GM building", he said. "It glitters like a jewel box. I think if we get the glass too transparent, it will almost go away to a fault". He debated the point with Jobs, but to no avail. "When technology enables something new, he wants to take advantage of that", said Johnson. "Plus, for Steve, less is always more, simpler is always better. Therefore, if you can build a glass box with fewer elements, it's better, it's simpler and it's at the forefront of technology. That's where Steve likes to be, in both his products and his stores."

This guy is absolutely correct. Its like deciding to cut a diamond using less cuts to make it simpler. The cuts are what make the diamond sparkle and interest your eye. Lets cut a diamond into a cube and see how interesting it looks next to a round brilliant cut diamond. Less isn't always more.

I thought it looked pretty cool before. Now it looks like the front of any department store... to my eye anyway. Not that I care really.

 

[i hate phones]

poor birds

 

[yeknommonkey]

They have 80 BILLION dollars in cash. 6 Million is hardly a drop in the bucket...

thats very true, a quick google tells me that 6million is just .075% of that $80b

.075% of what i have in the bank is annoyingly very little.... and does put it into perspective from their point of view.

 

[dscuber9000]

I think it looks a lot cooler now. I can't wait until it is one huge pane of glass on each side.

 

[Tiger8]

i think it looks nice and clean, but for how much they spent...serious waste of money....did they remodel the actual store too or just the cube?

It is a lot of money, but I guess we do that on small scale everyday, right? By theory, you can easily survive in a 400 sq ft basement apartment, drive a $3K cash car, and eat at Micky D everyday... Not that anything is wrong with that (and God knows I did all those things at some point in my life), but you don't. You live in a nice house / highrise, with stainless steel kitchen appliances, a new car, and enjoy eating out at nice places.

Is it necessary? Absolutely not, but we do it.

 

[Skika]

Love it! Seems so clean! And that glass must be some piece of engineering

 

[Abazigal]

Great way to pump some money back into the economy.

 

[thirteen1031]

All you people saying $6m, SOOOOO much money, SUCH a waste of money, better things could have been done with it...really? Hmmm, how about all the jobs that work created? How about all the tax revenue, both state and federal, parts of which went to welfare, schools oh and yeah MEDICAL RESEARCH. Sure, not alot of it, a percentage of a percentage, but still something. And then how about all the jobs the income of those workers, the state and federal tax money went on to create, the money they spent in other industries, from the bagle the workers had for breakfast and associated salaries for those workers and MORE tax money all the way down the line.

Very good point! And let's not forget that part of the reason it cost $6 million is because they also fixed up the pavilion. For all we know, the cube might have cost a paltry $1-$2 million but with fixes and improvements to the pavilion it rocketed up to $6--and those repairs were essential and important for drainage, stopping water damage, etc.

Going back to someone else's comment about changing the roof tiles...what if you had leaks and needed new roof tiles--and here was your chance to change the color of your roof tiles as well? All the public sees is that your roof has new colored tiles and maybe they'll say, 'Why'd they waste money on changing the color?" But in actuality, you did some important construction that was needed for the whole house. That pavilion is the roof of the store. Some of those millions of dollars were very, very, very necessary.

$6 million is the total price which includes a lot of work on drainage and other elements of the pavilion as well--it's not just and only the pretty glass cube.

 

[Dionte]

I want to visit that store one day.

 

[Westyfield2]

What I want to know is if they've changed the spiral staircase at all. First time I went in there I tripped up on it whilst leaving with a nice new MacBook Pro .

 

[MarkN]

Apple isn't a private company. As a shareholder it is MY money.
That being said, I like the new design a little better - but don't think it was worth the cost and didn't think the original one was either.

You should reinvest your money in a different company then!

 

[audio_inside]

My feeling exactly when I looked at the new design. It's so transparent that it loses it's stature. Personal opinion, but the old design was better.

Have to say I agree - less is less in this case. The reason the old version was so compelling is the same reason IM Pei's glass pyramid at the Louvre works so well: the facets as well as the visible bits of titanium hardware give it a jewel-like quality which engages the eye. That helps make it a focal point in a plaza of stone surrounded by conventional façades.

Anybody else wondering if that glass is insulated? Or are they just pumping heat out the roof like crazy?

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[applefan289]

IMO this style of huge panes of glass works for the Pudong store, but not the 5th ave store.

It is a lot of money, but I guess we do that on small scale everyday, right? By theory, you can easily survive in a 400 sq ft basement apartment, drive a $3K cash car, and eat at Micky D everyday... Not that anything is wrong with that (and God knows I did all those things at some point in my life), but you don't. You live in a nice house / highrise, with stainless steel kitchen appliances, a new car, and enjoy eating out at nice places.

Is it necessary? Absolutely not, but we do it.

If you go far enough, then technically the only thing necessary is something to keep you alive...like a permanent liquid food needle in your arm to give you vitamins. Technically the only things that are necessary are the base things that keep you alive, like I just mentioned.

I think "necessity" is all relative unless you look at the bare minimum which would just keep you alive and that's it.

 

[Kaibelf]

Transparent aluminum as described in Star Trek 4.

Ha you read my mind! I posted this not long before you

 

[citi]

Yes, I can see a difference. But I suppose some of us are just asking why (in a supposed recession), there was the need to do so?
Why?

So in a supposed recession, Apple employs companies to build said structure. I believe that's called job stimulation. I'm sure the contractors who worked on the project do not share your opinion.

 

[Kaibelf]

This guy is absolutely correct. Its like deciding to cut a diamond using less cuts to make it simpler. The cuts are what make the diamond sparkle and interest your eye. Lets cut a diamond into a cube and see how interesting it looks next to a round brilliant cut diamond. Less isn't always more.

I thought it looked pretty cool before. Now it looks like the front of any department store... to my eye anyway. Not that I care really.

Some people find overcut diamonds to be garish.

 

[imageWIS]

I have yet to see it in person... however, based on pics, I liked the original one more.

 

[milbournosphere]

I didn't really see anything wrong with the old one...it looked really cool when lit up at night.

 

[Taank]

!!

Some people find overcut diamonds to be garish.

Overcut? Not sure I follow. There are pretty well established standard cuts. I'll go do a google search and look for these diamonds cut with minimal sides of which you speak. Or maybe you were just trying to be snarky. Success!

 

[bp1000]

This is one of those occasions where less is not more

I liked the complex intersections of the old cube design

But i hated the bridging plates between each sheet of glass, it looked like an organised mess of staples. The new design is much cleaner and indeed impressive but the intersection of glass on the old design made it look mesmerising. Typically apple like.

They should have done a mid term iPhone 4s style upgrade to it (and figured out how to keep the design and remove the bracing) instead of going straight to the next generation

But on buildings i think that wouldn't be very cost effective

 

[johnnyrb]

I liked the original.

I would like to see Apple build a underground store with a pyramid entrance. I'm surprised they didn't try that in Paris. That would be beautiful.

 

[jhende7]

Apple isn't a private company. As a shareholder it is MY money.
That being said, I like the new design a little better - but don't think it was worth the cost and didn't think the original one was either.

Being a minority shareholder does not mean you own the company.

When your investment at Apple lets you waltz into the board room and make steady demands that are continually complied with, then maybe.

If the minority shareholders had any say, Apple wouldn't have $80M in the bank.

Therefore, my argument stands..Apple does with Apple money what Apple wants. And so far, that's been a very good thing.

 

[FroMann]

Looks prettier.

 

[Spectrum Abuser]

The iStore fourth generation changed the way we looked at stores. No one had ever seen a gigantic cube made of glass panels before. It changed everything including the face of Apple.

But with the new iStore fifth generation we have revolutionized the way you look at glass. The last generation used a series of glass panels that equaled out to ninety pieces of glass. This worked great, but with this new revolutionary product we've managed to shrink iStore down to just Fifteen pieces of glass. It's astonishing.