Apple Store

Milan is the city of the future, at least in Italia. It’s where everything is developing by an exciting rhythm, in full respect of its historical and proud origins. The city is becoming a reference point for those who look from the outside: elegant but dynamic, alive but peaceful. Among the symbols that are revolutionizing the amazing Milan, the city stands out the long-awaited and desired opening of the new Apple Store, the main point for tourists and surely for the Milanese people, even more for the ones who dream with a Milan with more international outlines.

After the initial rumors and its covering scaffolding, the new Apple Store finally takes form at piazza Liberty, in the place of the historical Apollo cinema. It’s not just a celebration of the architecture, design and hi-tech, but mainly of its social advantage. As a matter of fact, there’s a fountain to catch the attention of the curious people and their like on Instagram, or the Portal, as it is called, a form of a parallelepiped eight-meter high from which 56 jets of water flow, and the imposing staircase that recalls a Roman amphitheater. It’s amazing the approaching of people who re-live the square, which has turned into a real meeting point, where you can take a break and chat between a shopping time and a coffee in the center, almost to remember the idea of the founder, Steve Jobs, who had as his ultimate goal, in every project, the enrichment of people’s lives.

Considering this fundamental element to understand the store, the square will be a place for shows and cinema projections, while Apple Store periodically will host art and photography free seasons. The Milanese store has a similar concept as the one in 5th Avenue in New York: a geometric glass architecture that expands to the underground. Actually, the store where you can get the iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac and accessories is reached by going down a couple of floors, which reflects and remembers the classic of Apple Store, with wooden tables and staff members wearing the blue t-shirt with the famous white brand.

Because of its austere fountains and stairways, the Apple Store also captivates the more traditional Milanese people, because it reflects the Milanese spirit and the context in which it was introduced: in the heart of the city, as a main link between Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Quadrilatero della Moda, but sheltered and composed, as Apple is used to do. Although the important structure, it keeps its stillness at the same time that fits perfectly into the surrounding architecture as a result of the chromatic uniformity and the materials that it’s made of (the Gray Beola stone).

The project, signed by the British architect Norman Foster, is actually a celebration of the Italianness, with more than 200 companies that participated in the company. It promotes the desire to make all of the Italian beauty triumph in a square that is a symbol for the city, where it’s about to return to be one of the most visited and sociable points of the new Milan that appeals to everyone.