$6.7M effort to replace Apple's iconic Fifth Ave glass cube underway
Apple is hard at work on replacing and improving its iconic glass cube entrance to its store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, a project that will cost the company nearly $6.7 million.
Numerous readers reached out to AppleInsider this week to note that the store on Fifth Avenue has been under construction for the last few days, and that the entrance has been closed off. Details on the project were revealed Thursday by Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore.com.
The project involves completely removing the glass cube entrance at the store, and then reinstalling it. Permits filed with New York's Department of Buildings show that the entire project will cost Apple $6,661,050, and that construction is expected to be completed by November.
"There is no indication of why the cube is being replaced, either because of safety concerns or simply to upgrade it to current technology," Allen wrote. "It's also not clear if the glass panels or the TriPyramid Structures Inc. hardware will be replaced with new, upgraded versions."
In addition to replacing the cube, Apple will also remove protective bollards, install new pavers around the perimeter, and remove and reinstall surrounding water drains.
Plywood walls were said to be erected around the glass cube Wednesday evening, and in the coming days scaffolding will be added to allow workers to access the 32-foot cube. The structure was originally completed in May of 2006, and that project cost Apple $7 million.
Apple's store at 767 Fifth Ave. is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and its giant glass cube entrance has become something of a landmark in New York City. It is the highest grossing store in the district by square foot, and has even been found to be one of the most photographed locations in the city.
Numerous readers reached out to AppleInsider this week to note that the store on Fifth Avenue has been under construction for the last few days, and that the entrance has been closed off. Details on the project were revealed Thursday by Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore.com.
The project involves completely removing the glass cube entrance at the store, and then reinstalling it. Permits filed with New York's Department of Buildings show that the entire project will cost Apple $6,661,050, and that construction is expected to be completed by November.
"There is no indication of why the cube is being replaced, either because of safety concerns or simply to upgrade it to current technology," Allen wrote. "It's also not clear if the glass panels or the TriPyramid Structures Inc. hardware will be replaced with new, upgraded versions."
In addition to replacing the cube, Apple will also remove protective bollards, install new pavers around the perimeter, and remove and reinstall surrounding water drains.
Plywood walls were said to be erected around the glass cube Wednesday evening, and in the coming days scaffolding will be added to allow workers to access the 32-foot cube. The structure was originally completed in May of 2006, and that project cost Apple $7 million.
Apple's store at 767 Fifth Ave. is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and its giant glass cube entrance has become something of a landmark in New York City. It is the highest grossing store in the district by square foot, and has even been found to be one of the most photographed locations in the city.
Comments
Maybe he is having the original cube prepared as his Tomb? He did look really frail at WWDC and the Cupertino council meeting. Not to mention the tone of those two meetings seem to be setting up his legacy.
#conspiracy
UPDATE: This is the article I was referring to: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...ore_lease.html
and
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...lass_cube.html
Maybe they are going to make it round like their new campus.
I hope that they try to integrate it elegantly into the built environment. The current architecture is a "look at me" gimmick that sticks out rather than enhancing the rest of the streetscape.
I hope that they try to integrate it elegantly into the built environment. The current architecture is a "look at me" gimmick that sticks out rather than enhancing the rest of the streetscape.
It's a retail store!
I hope that they try to integrate it elegantly into the built environment. The current architecture is a "look at me" gimmick that sticks out rather than enhancing the rest of the streetscape.
Well, yeah. Kinda the point.
By AppleInsider Staff
Published: 10:30 AM EST
The long-awaited deal for Apple?s sprawling subterranean store in the GM building was recently finalized?but only after landlord Harry Macklowe promised Steve Jobs he could take his big $9 million glass cube with him at the end of the lease, reports New York Magazine.
According to the report, Jobs personally designed the 32-foot-by-32-foot hollow glass structure that will mark the store?s entrance on the Fifth Avenue plaza. Over the past month, workers could be seen assembling the massive gemstone-esque structure, one narrow glass pane at a time.
?Steve Jobs felt that he created the cube so he owned it,? said Apple broker Robert Futterman, noting that Macklowe wanted it to stay put. ?At the eleventh hour, that was the biggest issue.?
The report says that Macklowe aggressively wooed Jobs, flying out to California twice and offering the 24,000-square-foot retail space at well below market rent of $1,000 per square foot.
"At the end of the twenty-year lease, Jobs must replace the cube with a comparable structure before hauling it off."
The GM Building flagship Apple store is now slated to open next spring.
Rendering of 5th Ave. Apple retail store entrance.
I hope that they try to integrate it elegantly into the built environment. The current architecture is a "look at me" gimmick that sticks out rather than enhancing the rest of the streetscape.
Because glass facades in midtown Manhatten are unheard of? You have no clue about this, have you even been to Manhatten? Have you even considered how much a masonry structure on that site would overwhelm the next door building's lobby? Impinge on their light? How enormously popular this building is, amongst both tourists and New Yorkers? The awards it has won? The fact that it is the most photographed building in NYC?
I really liked the cube. I hope they will replace it with something similar stylish and catchy.
They're replacing it with a glass cube. Read the article, it explicitly says that they are taking it down and putting it back up again.
It's a retail store!
Sorry, it is a NYC streetscape first. The cube is just across the street from Central Park too. Ever since the misguided razing of Penn Station, NYC has been hyper-aware of the importance of architecture and how it enhances the public experience. Apple has a responsibility to the community to make whatever they put there awesome. They are lucky to be here. Don't think so? Ask Wal-Mart who is doing everything they can, even unionizing, to get a spot in the Big Apple.
For what it is worth, I happen to like the cube and think it does fit in with its all glass, shiny, skyscraper aesthetic. Apple could have done better but it ain't bad.
They're replacing it with a glass cube. Read the article, it explicitly says that they are taking it down and putting it back up again.
Maybe they are replacing the cube walls with some sort of LED-embedded clear panels that can light up with colors and/or function as video displays.
Maybe they are replacing the cube walls with some sort of LED-embedded clear panels that can light up with colors and/or function as video displays.
While I guess it's technically possible I would have though that would require additional permits which there's no evidence of. Also it would go completely against their design language. Apple stores are specifically intended to be low stimulus environments so that the products pop, even the big gestures like the glass cube are fundamentally minimal and understated.
Now if this was a Microsoft store I could totally see them turning the windows into a massive display.
Reading comprehension, it's not just for highschool it's for life.
Can I borrow that?!