The recently completed Apple store located in the Dubai Mall is about more than just showcasing Apple’s products. Foster + Partners wanted to reinvent the traditional introverted idea of mall-based retail and replace it with one that’s more focused on looking outward at the surrounding urban landscape.
For this reason, Foster + Partners and the Apple design team decided to incorporate what is arguably one of the most impressive urban landscapes in the world into Apple Dubai Mall. Chief among the aspects turning the Dubai Apple Store into an outward looking experience is the 186-foot wide and 18-foot deep terrace. The terrace incorporates nine trees that sit in large, rotating planters that ensure each tree receives even sunlight. Seating for visitors is built into the planters. No other Apple Store in the world has a terrace like this, and it becomes even more unique when its views are taken into account.
The terrace provides views of the Dubai Fountain, the world’s tallest performing fountain, and the Burj Khalifa, the World’s tallest building. The terrace is also home to what Foster + Partners claims to be one of the world’s largest kinetic art installations: a reinterpretation of the traditional Arabic Mashrabiya. These Solar Wings shade the outside terrace during the day and open during the evening to connect visitors with the city. The architect calls the wings an “integrated vision of kinetic art and engineering” and says the motion of a falcon spreading its wings inspired the movement path.
Photo courtesy of Foster + Partners.
The wings are made entirely from carbon fiber and consist of multiple layers of tubes that form a dense net. This net of 340 carbon fiber rods allows people on both levels of the two-level store to see out, while the sunlight coming in is filtered and casts crosshatched shadows deep into the building’s interior. There are 18 wings in total and they take one minute to open or close. Each wing is 37.5-feet-tall and 10-feet-wide but weighs just one ton.
Customers can enter the store directly from Dubai Mall through full height, glazed pivoting doors on both levels. The lower level of the store is home to The Avenue, a specially designed area for accessories display. This area has a typical Apple Store look with display tables holding the latest products Apple has to offer. In addition to the “Genius Bar,” Apple Dubai Mall will have space to launch Apple’s new program “Today at Apple.” This program will employ “Creative Pros” that offer customers advice and training on photography, filmmaking, art, and design.
Apple Dubai Mall opened on April 27.
Photo courtesy of Foster + Partners.
Photo courtesy of Foster + Partners.
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | Apr 7, 2023
New Nashville mixed-use high-rise features curved, stepped massing and wellness focus
Construction recently started on 5 City Blvd, a new 15-story office and mixed-use building in Nashville, Tenn. Located on a uniquely shaped site, the 730,000-sf structure features curved, stepped massing and amenities with a focus on wellness.
Libraries | Mar 26, 2023
An abandoned T.J. Maxx is transformed into a new public library in Cincinnati
What was once an abandoned T.J. Maxx store in a shopping center is now a vibrant, inviting public library. The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL) has transformed the ghost store into the new Deer Park Library, designed by GBBN.
Mixed-Use | Mar 11, 2023
Austin mixed-use development will provide two million sf of office, retail, and residential space
In Austin, Texas, the seven-building East Riverside Gateway complex will provide a mixed-use community next to the city’s planned Blue Line light rail, which will connect the Austin Bergstrom International Airport with downtown Austin. Planned and designed by Steinberg Hart, the development will include over 2 million sf of office, retail, and residential space, as well as amenities, such as a large park, that are intended to draw tech workers and young families.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 27, 2023
New 20,000-seat soccer stadium will anchor neighborhood development in Indianapolis
A new 20,000-seat soccer stadium for United Soccer League’s Indy Eleven will be the centerpiece of a major neighborhood development in Indianapolis. The development will transform the southwest quadrant of downtown Indianapolis by adding more than 600 apartments, 205,000 sf of office space, 197,000 sf for retail space and restaurants, parking garages, a hotel, and public plazas with green space.
Retail Centers | Feb 24, 2023
Santiago Calatrava unveils plans for a luxury retail and office complex in Düsseldorf, Germany
Renowned architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, along with the CENTRUM Group, has unveiled plans for Calatrava Boulevard, a luxury retail and office complex in Düsseldorf, Germany. Running parallel to Königsallee and connecting with the Steinstrasse station, Calatrava Boulevard will incorporate and connect to the boulevard’s existing buildings.
Codes and Standards | Feb 21, 2023
Standards vs Guidelines: The benefits of establishing process
The unsung hero of standards may be the impact they can have on speed to market and price of product and project, according to IA Interior Architects.
Intelligent Lighting | Feb 13, 2023
Exploring intelligent lighting usage in healthcare, commercial facilities
SSR's Todd Herrmann, PE, LEEP AP, explains intelligent lighting's potential use cases in healthcare facilities and more.
Giants 400 | Feb 9, 2023
New Giants 400 download: Get the complete at-a-glance 2022 Giants 400 rankings in Excel
See how your architecture, engineering, or construction firm stacks up against the nation's AEC Giants. For more than 45 years, the editors of Building Design+Construction have surveyed the largest AEC firms in the U.S./Canada to create the annual Giants 400 report. This year, a record 519 firms participated in the Giants 400 report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Jan 31, 2023
2022 Retail Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. retail building sector
Gensler, CallisonRTKL, Kimley-Horn, Henderson Engineers, Whiting-Turner Contracting, and Turner Construction top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest retail sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
High-rise Construction | Dec 7, 2022
SOM reveals its design for Singapore’s tallest skyscraper
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has revealed its design for 8 Shenton Way—a mixed-use tower that will stand 63 stories and 305 meters (1,000 feet) high, becoming Singapore’s tallest skyscraper. The design team also plans to make the building one of Asia’s most sustainable skyscrapers. The tower incorporates post-pandemic design features.
