Foster-designed flagship Apple store opens

Foster & Partners’ flagship store for Apple has opened in San Francisco.

The new store boasts 42-foot tall sliding glass doors which open out on to Union Square, a 2.6-acre public plaza in the heart of the Californian city, which is close to the tech giant’s headquarters at Cupertino, also being designed by Foster.

Intended to be a model for the company’s shops elsewhere in the world, it replaces the first Apple store that opened in San Francisco 12 years ago.

Foster collaborated on the Union Square store with Apple’s chief design officer Jonathan Ive and Angela Ahrendts, its senior vice president of retail and online stores.

As well as display areas, the shop also features spaces for education and advice on Apple products.