Dezeen Magazine

Ten of the most appealing Apple Stores designed by Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners has designed a succession of Apple Stores that implement the tech giant's retail vision. From Paris to Istanbul, here are 10 of its best designs. 


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Apple Zorlu Centre by Foster + Partners

Apple Zorlu Centre, Turkey, 2014

Apple Zorlu Centre in Istanbul was the first Foster + Partners-designed Apple Store to open.

Occupying two storeys below ground the store is topped by a glass cube that rises within the plaza of a shopping centre, offering visitors views inside.

Find out more about Apple Zorlu Centre ›


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Apple Westlake in China

Apple Westlake, China, 2015

One of Apple's largest retail outlets in Asia, this store is a 15-metre-high glazed box with a cantilevered floor and glass staircases.

Its facade is made up of 11 double-glazed panels that can be shaded by mechanically controlled blinds concealed within the ceiling.

Find out more about Apple Hangzhou ›


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Apple Michigan Avenue

Apple Michigan Avenue, USA, 2017

A slender carbon-fibre roof designed to resemble a scaled-up version of the Apple's Macbook characterises this store on Chicago's waterfront.

The glass-walled building is flanked by two granite staircases that create a pathway from the neighbouring plaza to the river esplanade.

Find out more about Apple Michigan ›


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Apple Orchard Road by Foster + Partners

Apple Orchard Road, Singapore, 2017

Potted trees and sweeping staircases hand-carved from stone characterise the Apple Store in Singapore.

Like several other of the shops designed by Foster + Partners, the Singapore store incorporated greenery, with eight mature trees outside its entrance and 12 ficus trees inside.

Find out more about Apple Orchard Road ›


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Apple Dubai Mall by Foster + Partners

Apple Dubai Mall, United Arab Emirates, 2017

A 56-metre-long sweeping terrace wraps around the oriel window of the Apple Store in Dubai, giving views across the city and of the Burj Khalifa.

It features intricate carbon-fibre shutters, modelled on traditional Arabic mashrabiya, which can be used to shade for the shop during the day.

Find out more about Apple Dubai ›


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Apple Cotai Centre Macau by Foster + Partners

Apple Cotai Central, China, 2018

This cuboidal Apple Store in Cotai – a reclaimed island near Macau – has a translucent facade made from a composite of glass and stone.

The building incorporates bamboo both externally and internally. It is surrounded by a dense thicket of the plants and has a "grove" of bamboo growing through a central atrium.

Find out more Apple Cotai Central ›


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Foster + Partners' unveils Apple Store on Champs-Élysées in Paris

Apple Champs-Élysées, France, 2018

One of Foster + Partners most unconventional Apple Stores is located in a 19th century apartment block on Paris' Champs-Élysées.

The store surrounds a central courtyard, and is topped by a kaleidoscopic solar roof that reflects dappled sunlight around the building.

Find out more about Apple Champ-Elysees ›


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Apple Kyoto in Japan by Fosters + Partners

Apple Kyoto, Japan, 2018

Apple Kyoto is distinguished by its giant translucent facade that is modelled on the materiality of traditional Japanese houses and lanterns.

It is made from glass covered in printed dots within an aluminium frame, and stands in front of an internal wall made from paper panels.

Find out more about Apple Kyoto ›


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Apple Piazza Liberty by Foster + Partners

Apple Piazza Liberty, Italy, 2018

An eight-metre high water feature fronts the Milan outlet, which Foster + Partners sank into a traditional Italian piazza.

It is positioned at the end of an amphitheatre, which is intended to give visitors the child-like excitement of "walking into a big fountain".

Find out more about Apple Milan ›


Foster + Partners Apple stores: Apple Iconsiam in Bangkok, Thailand by Foster + Partners

Apple Iconsiam, Thailand, 2018

Fronted by two expansive glass facades and lined with indigenous trees, Thailand's first Apple Store was designed to blur the boundary with the adjacent plant-filled plaza.

It is topped by a large overhanging roof lined with timber, and supported by just four columns that provide a spacious, open-plan interior.

Find out more about Apple Iconsiam ›