Apple Opens First Singapore Flagship Store

By IvyLee Rosario

Apple Orchard Road

Foster + Partners have completed the first Apple Flagship store in Singapore: Apple Orchard Road. The company partnered with the design team at Apple led by Chief Design Officer Jonathan Ive and Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts. 

Singapore is seen as one of the greenest cities in the world, which was incorporated into the buildings design. The store features wide pavement at the front, creating a new public space with eight trees that create a shaded green orchard and provide meeting space for visitors.

The 120-foot glazed storefront weaves into the building’s facade, while the white canopy projects out 25 feet, providing shelter from the tropical weather. The side stone walls feature two curved, hand-carved staircases acting as bookends to the interior space. The staircases lead to the mezzanine, which contains the largest Genius Grove in the world, with 12 Ficus Ali trees. The Forum features Apple’s widest video screen in the world, and acts as a gathering place. 

“This is one of our greenest Apple spaces yet—not only does all the energy come from renewable sources, but it is filled with lush trees,” said Stefan Behling, head of Studio for Foster + Partners, in prepared remarks. “It also breaks down the boundaries between the inside and outside, with the greenery cascading through the store from the mezzanine to the ground floor and out to onto Orchard Road, creating the most welcoming civic gesture.”

Apple and Foster + Partners also paired up to open Apple Park, Apple Inc.’s $5 billion campus project in Cupertino, Calif.

Image courtesy of Foster + Partners